The Andalite Chronicles 4 The Survivor
by Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae
Summary: A young ANdalite's dreams are smashed when an unexpected turn of evens gives the label "vecol". Falling into the care of the mysterious Kelbrid, we meet up again with Aximili and them. Will be continued in another story, its getting so long. Please R&R ;
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs (obviously) nor the original Andalite Chronicles, they are the property of K.A. Applegate. I do own characters: Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae, Toreador, Mara, Garand, etc. NOT the original Animorphs or other previously mentioned characters such as Menderash-Postill-Fastill. Thank you.**

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**Prologue**

My name is Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae. First born of Alloran and Jahar, an only child as far as I know. Yes, my father is _the_ Alloran. War Prince Alloran-Semitur-Corass, first and hopefully last Andalite to be infested by a Yeerk.

Yeerk, an alien word. A parasitic alien species that can enter through your ear and take over your mind and body, make you a slave. In my opinion, all Yeerks were evil. After what one Yeerk, Esplin 9466, had done to me.

Esplin 9466 is—or was—Alloran's slave master. Alloran, my father. Esplin, my tormentor. Circles within circles.

Let me tell you who I used to be. I used to be quite spirited, I loved to laugh at little things; small, inconsequential things that made me smile. I never knew my father. I loved to run and leap and play. I loved to stand quietly in the middle of the night when the moons were dark and watch the bright twinkling stars, so far away. Even the taunting I took from others my age didn't bother me. They taunted me for being the daughter of a disgraced Prince by the name of Alloran. But that's all he was to me, a name. I once caught a glimpse of a holo-picture, which I assumed was him. My mother was looking at it but when she saw me she hid it from sight.

I could always tell when she was thinking of him. She would gaze into space, looking at something only she could see and she wouldn't hear me when I spoke to her. When she was like this I always tried to cheer her up by spinning a cloud overhead or some other bit of simple art. Then she would smile because she knew I could do better and I would do it again and she would direct me. She always said I had a talent for cloud art.

I loved the clouds. I loved shaping and turning them into an imagined design instead of the customary patterns they taught us in school. No, my clouds always stood out from the rest even if I tried to make them conform to a certain pattern. I had also, after much convincing, become a student at the academy and an _aristh_, hoping to make something of myself since females were usually discouraged from joining the military. The reason was, though I was a particularly exceptional cloud artist, I had always felt the need to take action, though after a while my training became more of a hobby.

That was me; a content, ignored, spirited, artistic, _aristh_ Andalite girl. But the war with the Yeerks was intensifying. And after the report of the hero, Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul had been killed I really started to become afraid, afraid for my mother and my home. I tried to tell myself off, saying I was foolish a bunch of slugs could defeat our superior military. But I knew better. I grew more restless with each passing day. Finally I could bear it no longer. I felt I needed to do something, anything. I had to get off my home world, I didn't know why, only that I had to. I anxiously awaited my assignment to a Dome ship. Waited as my fellow _arisths_ were assigned until I was the only one left. Then the day came.

I was assigned to the Dome ship _BladeSwift_ and continued my training with a seasoned war veteran. I remember my excitement at going into deep space for the first time. In my spare time I worked on an invention that I hoped would one day be widely used. I was the only female aboard, and a child at that, and most of my shipmates ignored me. I didn't care, I was finally sure of my calling, I would help them win this war.

I was a fool.

The first time we attacked a Yeerk outpost we were surprised by a Yeerk Visser's Blade ship. We were hopelessly outnumbered, bug fighters to Andalite fighter ships as well as a Pool ship. As far as I knew everyone aboard was killed. Everyone except me.

Why me? I didn't know. I only knew that I had survived. When our ship was struck I was the only Andalite in the dome part of the ship. A hole had been punched into the clear dome by the Blade ship's dracon cannon, the shields had been all but destroyed. I passed out from lack of air and awoke imprisoned on the Blade ship. Esplin's—now Visser One—Blade ship. Esplin controlling the living body of my father. I would have turned my tail blade on myself then, to ensure I would not remain a prisoner as I had been trained, only it was locked up in a sheath.

_He_ tried to have me infested then. But for my little invention I certainly would have been. The Yeerk trying to enter my ear was met with an electric shock strong enough to kill it. What I had fashioned were two tiny electric circuits—energy conductors—which I had earlier placed just inside my ears. They conducted and contained a certain amount of electricity from my own body until an outside body came into contact and it released a strong shock, which was enough to knock an Andalite senseless. I know because I accidentally did just that when testing it.

Visser One was not pleased and demanded I tell him what he wished to know or suffer the consequences. But I faithfully remained silent, I would never betray my people, no matter the outcome. I admit that I was terrified, completely terrified of what he would do to me. But I never said a single thought-speak word. Perhaps if I had it would have gone better for me or maybe the end result would not have been altered. The key was that after everything I went through I did not desert to the enemy. To this day I am proud of my choice, for I was but a child at the time.

I remained on the Blade ship, as prisoner. A mere object for inflicting pain. Now here I was, and I would not be leaving anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

**Menderash**

My name is Menderash-Postill-Fastill, the only known survivor of the _Intrepid_. I am the First Officer of Captain Aximili. I say that I am because I still hold out the hope that he is alive.

We were in deep space in a sleek, cruiser-class Yeerk craft named the _Rachel_, not nearly as remarkable as one of our own Andalite craft, of course. But we couldn't use Andalite craft. We were in _Kelbrid_ space and Andalites had a strict treaty with the Kelbrids: We didn't enter their space, they don't enter ours. Though I have begun to doubt the actual existence of the Kelbrids.

There were six of us: the human-hero, Jake, who was our captain; the human, Marco; the human-_nothlit_, Tobias, as an earth-bird called a red-tailed hawk; the two humans that Jake had selected to accompany us, Sergeant Santorelli and Jeanne Gerard; and myself, Menderash the Andalite-_nothlit_ as a human, and the pilot.

We had been wandering around a class-four solar system, which consisted of a giant, green-yellow star—unlike earth's tiny orange-yellow star—and twenty some planets which orbited it. Most of them no more than large rocks with poisonous atmospheres though a few volcanic ones were fascinating to look at and one might have been covered completely in a water-like fluid. But we weren't interested in the planets. We were looking for the Blade ship. In the end, they essentially found us. And I was there when the Captain gave what we all believed to be his last order.

"Full emergency power to the engines," Jake said. "Ram the Blade ship."

I quickly diverted all power from shields, life-support, internal lighting, everything to the engines. It took less than seconds. The Blade ship had no time to maneuver out of the way, and even its shields wouldn't be able to stop the _Rachel_.

I braced my human legs for impact, though I knew it wouldn't do much. The _Rachel_ powered a direct line for the Blade ship's bridge. I kept my eyes on it all. It only took seconds more before we were just yards from collision. Then we hit. Only… we didn't. The nose of our ship plunged _through_ the Blade ship; I could see _ripples_, like someone had dropped a pebble into still water. And then we were completely through and the _Rachel_ came to an all-too-sudden halt. I lost my balance, having only two legs, and fell ungracefully to the floor of the cruiser.

Everyone just stared in astonishment at each other.

"Um, that was more than a little weird." Said Marco.

«What happened?» Asked Tobias.

"I don't know," said Jake, "But I'm going to find out."

I got to my feet and went to the controls. "Nothing is working," I informed them, "We have lost all power."

"When you say 'all power'…" queried Santorelli.

"Yes, I mean _all_ power."

"Which is the same as exactly no power?" said Marco, "Well, how much air do we have left?"

"Only what extra is in the cabin with us," I said, "We have, perhaps, forty minutes for all of us."

"We had a forced stop," said Jake, "Something stopped us."

Everyone went to the external viewers and peered outside.

"We appear to be inside a large room or hangar." I observed. "Though I can't be certain."

"Should we risk opening the hatch?" suggested Jeanne, "We cannot do much in here."

"Just wait, just wait." Said Jake, seeming a little troubled. "I need to think."

«Something's coming.» Said Tobias, still looking out the window, «It looks like…No it can't be.»

Santorelli, "What? What is it?"

I myself could see vague shapes moving toward us across the hangar's floor. I dew a sharp breath, as the figures became clearer.

They were humans. That alone wasn't so strange but they were mounted upon the four-legged earth animals called horses. There were three dozen of them, all wearing white or gray clothing and led by an older looking man with gray hair and a long, braided beard.

"Horsemen?" speculated Marco. "Do you think we could've gone back in time, again?"

«Or forward.» said Tobais.

"Or maybe we are in the present." I said.

"Is it a Yeerk trick?" asked Jeanne.

"I don't know," said Jake, "It seems to me that Yeerks wouldn't ride horses…" he looked a little longer, "Bareback. Or even have horses." He finished.

The riders approached the ship, seemingly unafraid. I noticed each had a sword hanging from his belt, a type of primitive human weapon made of sharpened steel. The leader rode ahead of the others to the front of the ship and waved an arm above his head while at the same time shouting words we couldn't hear.

"I believe we are being hailed, Captain."

"So we are," Jake replied, "He seems friendly enough."

"Unless they turn out to be, I don't know, cannibals or something." Added Marco, helpfully.

"Cannibals?" mused Santorelli.

"I keep an open mind," replied Marco.

«I say we see what they want.» said Tobias.

"Okay. But we stay on guard, we don't know anything about these guys," said Jake, "I'll go out with Santorelli and Menderash. Tobias, Marco, and Jeanne stay behind as backup… Just in case."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Lerinna**

My name is _Aristh _Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae. Not the same Lerinna you have read about before. No, I was very different now. The arrogance was gone; the brave, childish defiance was gone. I wasn't the adolescent _aristh_ anymore, I had aged during my time as a detainee, in mind as well as body. No one who saw me would recognize me as the Lerinna they might have known.

I was barely conscious. My chafed wrists were shackled above my head. My hind hooves were similarly fettered. My fore hooves could barely touch the floor, as my weak arms suspended the bulk of my body weight, not that I had much body weight anymore. I was literally skin and bones. My once sleek, blue-violet fur was now dull and lifeless. I had numerous bruises and abrasions, the worst of which was my right foreleg, which had been broken and had remained untreated. Breathing was difficult. Dried blood encrusted the right side of my face. My right main-eye drooped in the socket, blind. My remaining main eye and both stalk eyes felt as though they had been scoured with gritty dirt. Many blows to my head had left my brain with dangerous swelling. It was nigh impossible for me to form a single, coherent thought in my spacey mind.

All the doing of Efflit 1318. Surprised? I supposed Visser One was too busy fighting a war to torture his prisoners himself. I learned later that I had spent nearly one whole Andalite year aboard the Blade ship. Efflit gave me only enough nutrition to keep me alive.

At the time I didn't know how long I was like that, hours? Years? No way to tell, my internal timekeeping was lost amidst the trace sanity left my muddled mind. I was beyond pain and fear and I wondered why Efflit didn't just kill me and be done with it. Death was near, I knew, and I welcomed it. Anything to escape this desecrated body.

But it was not to be. For some reason I didn't die, perhaps for the same reason I didn't die that day when the _BladeSwift_ was destroyed. My torturer stopped visiting me and I thought it was because he had decided to finally let me die. A time passed as I drifted in and out of consciousness until it became to me one awareness and I could not tell whether I was dreaming or not.

After what seemed like an eternity and yet no time at all, something happened. I don't remember what, only that there were others with me. Then my restraints were gone. The familiar cruel harshness of them disappeared. No longer held upright, my ruined body collapsed to the floor, unable to support its own meager weight. I felt something touching me, gently feeling over me; my face, head, shoulders, side.

"Doesn't look too good." I heard a voice say.

"No, not good." said the voice belonging to the one touching me. "Go, bring a hammock, quickly," said the one who had touched me, and I heard several sets of footsteps leave. "We're bringing it—her—to the medical ward, I'll see what we can do for her."

The footsteps returned and I felt strong arms lift me onto a taut canvass and I was carried in it for an unknown distance. I was conscious and unconscious at the same time, or somewhere in between. I was laid on a hard table and a needle pricked my thin flesh and the pain left my body, dulled by some sort of anesthetic. It was such sudden, overwhelming relief to my senses that, for the first time in a very long time, my eyes closed and the deep blackness of deep sleep overcame me and I heard no more.

I opened my eyes. I know that doesn't sound like much, but after my time spent hanging helplessly in the Blade ship in a coma, opening my eyes possessed a whole new meaning. I could see! I could really see. My eyes had been healed; even the once-wounded right eye was as clear as day. I lifted a hand in front of my face, the movement caused pain in my shoulder and back from dangling from my arms for so long, the muscles screamed in protest. But it did not last more than a few minutes and it was not the ever-present pain I had felt during my captivity.

I felt… clean. All the crusted blood had been washed away and the wounds healed, leaving only a few scars. I examined my now whole fingers and wiggled them experimentally. I realized I was lying on my side on some sort of soft pad. With a great effort I lifted my head enough to look around, it throbbed agonizingly but I tried to ignore it. I was in an uncomfortably small, circular room which I was in the center of. A strange, two-legged creature was sitting across from me. It looked at me and seemed to be smiling, turning up the corners of its mouth. It had long brown hair coming out of the top of its head but the rest of its body seemed devoid of fur. The skin on its face, hands and feet was pinkish-tan and soft looking while the skin on its body was white and looked rougher and loose. It possessed only two eyes on the front of its face; both looked into my eyes.

"Good evening." It said, making sounds from its mouth.

I tried; I really tried to answer, to form a single word. My hand went to my head as, suddenly, an excruciating sensation went through my brain, as if someone was cutting it up from the inside. Unable to bear the agony, my head dropped back to the softness of the pad.

The creature must have sensed my pain and came to kneel beside me, placing a cool, wet cloth on my forehead. This helped a bit and I let out a shuddering breath.

"My name is Mara." Said the creature, softly, I assumed it was female, "Just rest, you are safe now." I realized she was speaking _galard_, the universal language of traders, which was commonly used for interspecies communication.

"So," continued Mara, "You are an Andalite. That is what the others who looked like you said to us. I have always wondered what Andalites look like." She sat back on the heels of her feet. "Can you stand?"

I didn't know. I decided to try. I lifted my upper torso off the mat and struggled to get my hooves beneath me. This all caused the pain to resurface and my brow furrowed as I tried to block it out. I suddenly really wanted to live and that feeling gave me an unknown strength and I staggered up to all four legs.

Three.

At least, I could not stand on the leg that had been broken. The bone had apparently fused together in a painful mess. It was wrapped in bandages, probably for support but it was still a twisted malady. It hurt even though I wasn't standing on it. I felt blood rushing to the area as my position changed and it felt as if it were on fire. Mara was beside me, helping me stand. Mara's arms were comparatively stronger than my own and she used them to support me. I took a few shaky steps; my whole body trembled from the strain and the pain.

"It is relative night here," said Mara, "I think it best you lie down again for a while." My throbbing mind agreed with her and I returned to the pad and collapsed upon it. My sight went dark and I passed out.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Lerinna**

Sometime later I awoke again in the little room. I fought to stand again and succeeded. Mara was gone, replaced by another of her species, whom I assumed to be male. In contrast he was taller and solidly built, and had shorter, gray hair on his head as well as the lower part of his face. I wondered what purpose the facial hair served.

He looked up at me and smiled with his mouth. "Welcome. I am Garand," he said, and I recognized his voice as the one who had ordered I be brought here, "Please, I would be obliged if you would drink that." He motioned to a container of crystal clear water that had been set on the floor to one side. With difficulty, I limped to it, keeping my bad leg off the floor, and plunged a hind hoof into it. Water had never felt so good. It rushed into my spent body, cool and clean and wonderful. Some of my aches disappeared and I suspected that Garand had put something in it. It didn't matter, if they had gone this far to care for me I had every reason to trust my life to them.

I turned to face Garand. «I am…» I struggled, «…Lerin—» My head pounded but I managed to finish, «…Lerinna.» I felt dizzy and my vision swam.

"Lerinna," he repeated, "I am glad you are still alive, the others suspected us of some sort of treachery. Tell me, are all members of your race so mistrustful?"

My mind whirled around what he had said, others? I… I don't… Understand, I thought, I don't understand! «I…» My thumb massaged the side of my head as I tried to form the words. Nothing made any sense, my mind spoke gibberish. In all of history who had heard of an Andalite with a speech-impediment? It made no scientific sense! Andalite scientists weren't even positive on how that part of our brain worked. If it was damaged, could it be fixed? I was suddenly frightened, what if I was forever impaired? What if I could never speak properly again? I looked down at my injured leg and felt despair creeping up on me. I couldn't walk normally, I couldn't talk normally. The realization came on my like a shock of freezing water. I was a _vecol_, a handicap, physically inferior, mentally unstable.

No. No, no, no! It couldn't be! _I_ could not be. Vecols live their lives in isolation, apart from anyone else, the shame of their condition was too great to bear in front of others. No, that couldn't be me. It _couldn't_ be. I knew I couldn't live like that, I simply could not.

But it was true, and the full weight of it fell on me. How could I face another Andalite in this state?

Garand watched me, patiently.

«I…can't…» I said, haltingly.

Garand nodded his head up and down and said, "If you feel strong enough I will take you to them."

I looked at him, unsure. He looked at me, encouragingly. «Yes,» I said, «Ta…take…me.»


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Menderash**

We manually opened the outer hatch of the _Rachel_ and Jake stepped out, cautiously. Santorelli and I followed. Since all power had disappeared the ship perched unprofessionally on its belly rather than the docking gear. Needless to say, this meant that the disembarkment ramp could not be deployed and we were obligated to make a four foot drop to the smooth floor on which our ship rested.

The lead horseman dismounted and walked toward us. Up close his hair seemed more silvery. His face was lined with age but his eyes flashed bright under a serious brow. When he spoke his voice was deep and compelling.

"Greetings, strangers." He said, taking time to look each of us in the eye. "I am Toreador, leader of my people."

"What?" blurted Santorelli. Jake looked from me to him and back.

"_Galard_," I explained, "He speaks _galard_."

"Can you translate?" asked Jake.

"Yes." I said, and relayed what Toreador had said.

"Tell him our names and that we are explorers and we apologize if we trespassed."

I did. Toreador smiled wryly and gave me his reply. "He says he would prefer if we do not lie to him."

Jake betrayed nothing in his expression but I sensed his unease. I thought Toreador did too as he seemed satisfied by Jake's silence. Finally, "Ask if he can speak English."

"I can." Said Toreador.

"You're Russian?" asked Jake, surprised, "I mean, your accent…"

"Russian? What is Russian?" Toreador seemed caught off-guard.

"Never mind," recovered Jake, "If you're not Russian, then, who are you?"

"I am Kelbrid," said he, "We are Kelbrid."

It was my turn to be caught off-guard. My jaw muscle slackened and my mouth dropped open in astonishment. I was so stunned I couldn't speak. "Y-y-you…You're…_what?_" I took a breath, "_You_ are the _Kelbrid_?"

Toreador nodded.

"_You_ are the Kelbrid." I said, still shocked.

"Menderash…" Jake started to say.

"You _are_ the—"

"Menderash," a little more forcefully. I shut my mouth, shaking my head in disbelief. It was impossible! The _Kelbrid_! The blunt warlike race with which we had a simple agreement: we don't go into their space, they don't come into ours. These people, these humans, simply _couldn't_ be the _Kelbrid_.

"Menderash," now Toreador was addressing me, "That is an Andalite name is it not? You are an Andalite, are you not?"

I stopped shaking my head. "I was an Andalite." I said.

"But not anymore." It wasn't a question.

"How can you recognize Andalite names?" I asked.

«Jake, we have a problem.» Tobias's thought-speak came to us from the ship.

"Toreador," said Jake, "What do you want with us?"

"The better question, Jake, is what do _you_ want with us? Why did _you_ come here? What are _you_ looking for?"

Jake thought a moment, scratching his chin. "We came here because it was the only clue we had. We are looking for a friend whom we believe may be a prisoner of the Blade ship, a Yeerk vessel. As for what we want with you," he paused, "that depends on why we are here and what we are looking for."

Toreador stared at Jake for a time before answering. "We have recently captured a strange black ship. But there was only one living prisoner aboard." I breathed slowly, daring to hope. "Who is it you are looking for?"

"An Andalite, Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil." Said Jake without missing a syllable.

«Rephrase: Jake, we have a serious problem.» Tobias sounded slightly more agitated. Sanorelli glanced back at the ship.

Toreador noticed Jake's changed expression. "Perhaps your comrades would like to come out now." After a pause, Jake turned and motioned toward the _Rachel_. A moment later Tobias flapped out and toward us. Marco followed next and then made a show of helping Jeanne, she brushed him off politely and strode quickly toward us.

I held my arm out and Tobias came to alight on my shoulder, careful not to dig his sharp talons into my skin.

"What is it?" I whispered.

«The morphing technology,» he said, directing his thought-speak to only us, «It doesn't work, Jake. It's not working.»

Jake tried to hide his confusion. Jeanne joined us, followed by Marco. Toreador crossed his arms and waited, stroking his beard. A hint of fear crept into me, if the others couldn't use morphing technology then we were utterly defenseless. Toreador's sword suddenly looked quite a bit threatening.

"Hi, I'm Marco," said Marco.

Toreador decided to continue speaking, "As I said before, there was only one living prisoner aboard the Blade ship, an Andalite, and I can assure you it was not your Aximili."

"He's Russian?" blurted Marco, "You're Russian?"

"He is _Kelbrid_," I said. Marco looked puzzled.

Jake shook his head, "Can you be sure?"

"Quite sure. Because I know Prince Aximili."

Silence.

«You know him?» Tobias repeated, incredulous.

Toreador seemed not at all surprised at being addressed by a red-tailed hawk, "Yes, I do." He looked at him, "And you are Tobias, he has told me of you. Some of you are the Animorphs of Earth: Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, and Marco. One has died, three are here and the last one?"

"She stayed on Earth." Jake stated.

"I see."

I interjected, "How do you know Prince Aximili?" I demanded, stepping forward.

Toreador's hand went to the sword hilt, he eyed Tobias and I. He spoke slowly and deliberately, "There is no need for haste, Menderash." To the rest, "If I am to trust you, you must first trust me. All of your questions will be answered in their time. I must warn you, if you pose any threat to my people I will have no choice but to kill you." His tone was calm but his words resonated in my mind.

"Oooookay," said Marco, "Got it."

"I can take you to Aximili, but you must surrender all your weapons first." His eyes bored into Santorelli who, reluctantly, pulled a dracon beam weapon from inside his jacket and placed it in Toreador's outstretched palm.

Jake nodded, and looked at the rest of us. "It's up to you guys."

«I'll go,» said Tobias, instantly.

"We gotta be sure Ax is okay," said Marco, "I'm in."

"And I." Said Jeanne.

"I will go also." I said.

Santorelli hesitated a moment before nodding his agreement.

Jake turned to Toreador, "Then it's settled."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Aximili**

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil; Captain, Prince, war hero, and an unwilling guest. I cannot think of a single word by itself to describe my situation, as it was the most confounding thing that had yet happened to me.

Several months ago, I and a group of twelve Andalite warriors had boarded an immense alien vessel, which we believed to be uninhabited. When we approached it the sensor scans only read DNA but no actual living organisms and I assumed, carelessly, that there was nothing really dangerous about the situation. I was careless, and my carelessness had cost me the lives of four loyal warriors.

The ship had indeed taken us into _Kelbrid_ space, leaving my ship, the _Intrepid_, stranded and falling apart. It was all very confusing at the time because the alien ship had repeatedly fired on the _Intrepid_. A human claiming to be a Kelbrid explained all this to me, his name was Toreador and he proclaimed himself to be a sort of king over the _Kelbrid_.

Toreador told me that some time ago the Blade ship had come across them and fired on them unprovoked. In turn they captured it and held it inside their massive and highly unused docking bay. But Toreador was unaware of the morphing technology, which the Yeerks aboard possessed and were plagued by strange creatures, which attacked and disappeared at any time. The Yeerks were lucky enough to have come across a weapons station and, on seeing the Andalite dome ship, hacked into the system and fired; at the same time releasing the Blade ship with most of the crew onboard, who fled on sight. The _Kelbrid_ ship pursued the runaways and at the same time subdued the Yeerks left behind by neutralizing the zero-space energy that allowed them, and us, to use morphing technology.

In the skirmishes between, four of my warriors were killed. Now, only eight others and I remained. Nine Andalites in an alien vessel, quite powerless. Andalites—especially Andalite warriors—are not used to the feeling of being the infidels.

The next many weeks were spent as prisoner-guests. In that time many amazing discoveries were made. The _Kelbrid_ turned out to be quite friendly, as opposed to our impressions of them being brutish and war-like. Another surprise was to find out that not only were there humans who called themselves _Kelbrid_ but other intelligent species. Among them were several Ongachics, Janguads, and Siri, as well as others I didn't recognize, although the population mainly consisted of humans.

The most astonishing thing about these intermingled races was their technology, which rivaled even Pemalite technology. I learned this was how the ship had fooled our sensors into believing it was dead. They really had no need of weapons, as their defenses were many and varied in technique and range. The 'sensor-fools' as they were called, were a primary defense. Others consisted of energy signals that would cause an attacking ship's engines to shut down, and another actually sent out a frequency call that would cause an enemy's inner-ear enough pain to ward off attackers, assuming they had ears, of course. All these united with their false reputation as fierce warlords was enough to let them live in peace, away from other races.

After the Blade ship was recaptured, much tension was eased from the ship's inhabitants. The surviving Yeerks were surprisingly not killed, as I would have expected. Instead, they were allowed as much freedom we Andalites. All of us were allowed to roam freely about the massive ship as long as we didn't stir up trouble. They allowed the Yeerks to return to their shipboard pool but demanded that if their hosts were unwilling to receive them back they would have no choice but to remain there. Of the twenty-two controllers, only five chose to be re-infested after their Yeerk had finished feeding. These five were three humans and two Gedds. Among the newly freed hosts were six Hork-Bajir, nine humans, and two Taxxons. The _Kelbrid_ were kind enough to show the Taxxons to a storage chamber containing unwanted materials for them to direct their ravenous hunger towards.

The Kelbrids' colossal ship truly was their home. They had numerous tunnels and passages leading every which-way and certain places were host to shops and stands selling—their currency was whatever they were willing to trade with one-another—things like colored cloth, necklaces with colored glass beads, and useless trinkets. The entire center of the ship was a sort of garden, similar to the parks in our own dome ships only about thirty times larger and populated with all manner of plants, trees, grass, and flowers. Like a piece from every imaginable world, there was familiar-seeming vegetation and things I at first didn't recognize as shrubbery. There were Earth-plants too, trees that had obviously been planted centuries ago. At the edges of the garden the hard walls did not even show, for, they were almost completely covered in millions of leafy vines, some flowering and others covered in nasty thorns.

Much of the ship's inner workings were explained to me by a human/Kelbrid called Mara. Mara was the twelfth child of Toreador—who had seventeen children—and she had showed a particular interest in us, the resident Andalites. She enjoyed answering our questions and generally I enjoyed her company. She was a curious creature, wanting to know whom we were and about Earth and other planets we had visited. It was she who told me of the Blade ship's single captive, another Andalite, grievously wounded. I was, of course, interested as to how the Blade ship had come to hold an Andalite prisoner other than the host of Visser One.

I went to inquire of one of the freed humans and they explained it to me to the best of their knowledge, but that, the whole story could only be told by Efflit 1318, who had been their captain. Efflit's host was one of the voluntary controllers, he was the Yeerk previously known as the one with the polar bear morph. Rachel's killer. I was most certainly not going to speak to him, for if I did I would undoubtedly execute him on the spot and I believed that Toreador would not be pleased with that.

I was with Mara the day I was reunited with Jake, my former prince; Tobias, my nephew and _shorm_; and Marco. Three other humans were with them, one being my former First Officer, Menderash-Postill-Fastill whom, I was astonished to hear, had freely become a _nothlit_ in order to accompany my human friends in their search for me. I later told him I held him in the highest honor for his sacrifice, though he didn't believe he deserved it. Menderash had always been that way, humble and solemn, but he had been ever dependable, that is why he was my First Officer.

Prince Jake and the others seemed very pleased to find out that I was not dead or a slave as they had been led to believe. We exchanged our stories and they peppered me with questions about the Kelbrid, I could answer some but to many it was 'I don't know'.

The girl, Mara, was very pleased to meet the friends that she had heard so much about in the few bizarre weeks I had spent with the Kelbrid. In the midst of our excitement, Toreador came up to us, announcing that the Andalite from the Blade ship would be joining us shortly. It was only myself, my friends, two Andalites, and Mara at the time, most of the other Andalites were off by themselves either observing the Kelbrid or feeding, because that was just about all there was to do.

We were standing near one side the 'Garden', as it was called. Tobias and I were trading meaningless statements, as we often had during my time on Earth, and Marco was trying to explain the inconsequential banter to a befuddled Menderash. Jake was a little ways off talking to Santorelli, and Mara was showing Jeanne a type of extraordinarily large flower with many different colored petals. Nearby were the two other Andalites, Hartan-Vastill-Halaman and Sheten-Farren-Esgarrouth, both fighter pilots, discussing the best way to reassemble a fighter that had been blown apart by highly compressed air. Theoretically, of course.

«No,» Sheten was saying, «If you were to pull the core away from the transmission there is no guaranteeing that the connection will not be permanently damaged. It is best to leave it in its place and work the wiring around it.»

«But, see, if you do not disconnect the core it may be damaged if you try to work around it with your bare hands, having no real automatic tools.» Said Hartan, «Furthermore, the possibility is greater that if you do not disconnect the transmission, it might leak and fuse the connecting sensors to the loose wires, causing the rewiring to become much more difficult.»

«You can prevent transmission leaks easily with a _drem_.» Returned Sheten.

«But only if you have a _drem_, and we are speaking of repairing it without automatic tools…» And on back and forth between the two.

My stalk-eyes spotted Toreador coming up behind us, with him was a younger man whom I recognized, seeing him twice before. Tobias saw them too, but said nothing. Tobias had been like that lately; he would speak some and then had nothing more to say as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Good day, father." Mara called, cheerfully.

Toreador greeted us in his manner of seeming lighthearted and really being quite serious. It was sometimes confusing to me, how he spoke.

"Good day to you, visitors. Good day, Mara." He nodded, smiling kindly in his way. "I am pleased to introduce my son, Timon, to you. Timon, this is Jake of Earth and his companions; Marco, Jeanne, Tobias, Santorelli, and the former Andalite Menderash." I had already met Timon.

Each of the humans and Menderash nodded as their names were stated. Tobias just set his intense gaze on the human/Kebrid.

Timon bowed, bending at the waist. "I am glad to meet all of you." He said, his gray eyes seemed to stare past all of us, though he turned his head at the sound of every voice. Then it came to me. I had always wondered about the searching look which was forever in Timon's expression, he was blind. A slight feeling of superiority came over me, seeing this one without sight. I didn't let it show.

Hartan moved closer, «And I am Hartan-Vastill-Halaman.» he said. But Sheten, seeing the man's disability, stiffly walked away. I watched Toreador, fearing he might be offended. But he paid no mind to Sheten. Instead he said,

"You all know we have been tending to the Blade ship's prisoner. That Andalite will be here presently. Her name is Lerinna, that is all we know of her."

I wasn't sure what I expected when told this. Probably an older Andalite, I thought. It puzzled me that Toreador stated it was female. But I was completely unprepared for the sight of that one Andalite girl.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Hartan**

My name is Hartan-Vastill-Halaman. I was a fighter pilot, a Prince, a husband, and father of two. I missed my home and my beautiful wife. I missed my scoop and my little children. By now, one of them would not be so little; she would be nearing adolescence. My little son, though, would still be, well…little. And half blind.

Finarel-Darrath-Elivat had been born blind in both main eyes, though, not noticeably. Medical examination by my wife—who is a doctor—confirmed that the retina had not completely detached, causing a second-degree blindness, meaning he could detect light and dark but no distinguishable shapes. I did not consider this to be of much consequence but our law stated otherwise: he was a _vecol_, and _vecols_ are supposed to live their lives in isolation, away from society. So my wife and I decided to hide his defect as long as his stalk-eye vision was clear and precise. I suppose accepting my son's disability helped me to better sympathize with other _vecols_ at home, though I still honored the law to them, letting them alone to live out their lives.

But now, I was far from my home, and from Finarel. Standing there, in the center of a culture which had been active for possibly a thousand years, with a race that Andalite society had communicated with but never before seen in the flesh, in an unimaginably huge ship, I was beginning to think I was prepared for anything, any strange phenomenon or shock or revelation. And then I saw _her_.

She was walking toward us—If you could truly call the staggering pace walking—accompanied by another of the Kelbrid; a man that looked a bit older than Toreador was. I was aware of the others beside me; one of the humans drew a sharp breath, or was it Menderash? I looked on silently, not quite believing what I my eyes were seeing.

It was an Andalite female. Fully grown but still young. As she and the man drew closer, I could see the emaciated body travelling on extremely thin legs. There were no obvious wounds but the bandaged front leg, everything else had been healed but leaving severe scarring in many places. She was clearly still very weak and could not even hold her tail off the ground and the smaller blade of the female dragged, uselessly, through the soft grass. The eyestalks stared into space, one of them looked withered but the eye seemed to still function. Reaching us, the man introduced himself and her.

"I am Garand," said he, and I recognized seeing him before with Toreador. "This is Lerinna." He motioned to her and she raised her eyes from the ground.

I wished she hadn't.

Her eyes…they looked up at all of us, at me. They sent a shiver down my spine. They stared out from hollow sockets; they seemed to…I couldn't describe it…they seemed to go right through me, as if she could see into my very soul. They were once bright eyes, darkened by the ordeals she had withstood, I couldn't even imagine. The melancholy gaze was so mournful and intense that I had to force myself to look away from it, or I feared I would go mad.

And perhaps that was it, she was mad. I wouldn't doubt it if anyone had told me that, after all she had been put through, this alarming female had indeed gone mad. At that moment I thought of Finarel, and a wave of pity washed over me, it was always a joke that I was softhearted, but I was genuinely saddened at this sight. An innocent youth had fallen into evil hands and come out as a horror of a _vecol_. A sad fate for anyone, but especially, it seemed, for this one female. Hate flared up inside me, suddenly. A writhing hate for all acts of cruelty and injustice and those who inflict them. I shifted my weight in agitation, my tail twitched. I was glad Sheten had left before meeting _her_, I could not imagine his reaction at being forced to acknowledge an Andalite _vecol_ as well as a human one. He had always been abhorrent towards anyone with lesser physical standing than perfect.

I realized no one had said anything in return to Garand's greeting, Toreador was looking at us expectantly, so I stepped forward, «We are well met, Lerinna. I am Prince Hartan-Vastill-Halaman.» I inwardly cringed as her penetrating eyes stabbed mine but I suppressed my discomfort. She said nothing in return, only looked at me. I was relieved when her gaze was redirected toward Jake the Animorph who also introduced himself.

"I'm Jake," he said, unsure, "These are my friends." Gesturing with his hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Marco." Said Marco, he grinned hopefully but Lerinna's face remained unchanged. After Marco, introductions were easier. Captain Aximili was the last to give his name and he did so politely and without unnecessary words or expressions. When it was over everyone seemed relieved. Mara went up to Lerinna and gently took her hand.

"Come," she said, "I want to show you the Garden." And she led her away, matching the slow, shambling stride.

Tobias flew up and circled above our heads, I didn't know whether to get away or just because he could. Marco was the first to break the silence.

"Wow, that was the most awkward intro I've had to endure. And believe me I _have_ endured them." Nobody smiled.

"She was so…" Jeanne searched for a word, "Sad."

"She has been through a traumatic experience." Garand stated, "How did you think she would be?"

Toreador said, "I have other duties which call for my attention. You Andalites have strange ways that I do not always understand. Your minds are alien; your thoughts are your own. Therefore, I cannot judge you, however," he paused and glanced at Timon, "as long as you are in our home I will not tolerate mistreatment of the defective, even if they are your own." He turned and walked swiftly away. After a few minutes the remaining humans and Kelbrid dispersed, leaving just us three Andalites: Captain Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil, Menderash-Postill-Fastill, and myself.

After a few moments of silence Aximili spoke, «Menderash-Postill-Fastill, I know that you understood Toreador's meaning, but, Hartan-Vastill-Halaman, did you?»

He looked at me. «Yes, Sir.» More than most, I added silently.

«Good, when the others report this afternoon I will make it known to them that in the presence of these aliens this _vecol_ is considered one of us though we are to leave her in peace if she so wishes.»

"The others, though they may obey you, will not agree with you." Menderash stated.

«I agree with Menderash,» I said, «Sheten, especially is younger and more stubborn than is usual.»

«So he is,» said Aximili, thoughtfully, «He is stubborn but he is also dutiful and will not disobey an order.»

After a brief pause, «Captain Aximili,» I said, hesitantly, «What did you think of her?»

«I do not know what to think, Hartan.» He sighed; his experience in living with humans had given him new insights on _vecols_. This, I knew.

«Captain—»

«There is no need for that title anymore, Hartan. I am not a Captain without a ship.»

«Yes, Sir. What of you, Menderash?»

"I…have nothing to say on the matter."

«But, is anything to be done for the girl?»

«It is a tragedy that has happened,» stated Aximili, «and there is nothing we can do that the Kelbrid haven't already done.»

«But, her leg…»

"I can guess that." Said Menderash, "The bone was probably broken and then healed crooked, in order to straighten it, it would have to be re-broken in the right place, but the bone tissue is probably inflamed or infected and it would be too risky."

«Ah yes,» said I, understanding. There were limits to medical technology, as advanced as it was. If there was inflammation in the bone, eliminating the infection would likely kill many blood cells in the marrow and the leg would possibly never heal at all. I, being wed to a physician, should have known that.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Lerinna**

As Mara led me away from the awful encounter, I breathed a heavy sigh. I wished that I hadn't been taken to them and if I could do it over I would not have gone through with it. As I was guided through the Garden, Mara explained, in her gentle voice, about the origins of the plant-life.

"This flower," she said, pointing to a bright purple blossom, "is called a _rakin_, its seed was a gift to us from the Siri. And those trees over there are _therant_, I think you are familiar with them. We have had those trees for nearly five-hundred years." I believed her, the familiar trees, although of normal size, were quite thick around the trunk. The trees's soft, pink leaves rustled slightly in an artificial breeze. We went closer and I ran my hand over one of the trees' ridged surface, savoring the memorable feel.

Suddenly, I wasn't on the Kelbrid ship anymore. I was back home on my family's graze-land, running freely over the grass. I tasted the familiar taste, smelled the familiar smells. I leaped and bounded on four legs into the wooded area where it was cool and quiet. I raced through the thin trees, soaring over any obstacle in my path until I emerged on the other side and saw my scoop. My hearts leapt for joy and I bolted towards home. I saw my mother come out to meet me, galloping swiftly and gracefully as she always did. She would scold me, I knew, for running so wildly, but then she always smiled, secretly proud that I could run so fast. I slowed, ready to meet her halfway and…

I fell.

I crumpled to the ground on strange grass under the giant _therant_. My head ached, my bandaged leg screamed. I clutched weakly at the memory but it slipped through the fingers of my mind like water through my hand.

_This can't be happening. _I thought, _It just can't. It's all a nightmare and I will open my eyes and wake up. My mother will be there and I will be home. None of this will have ever happened._

But when I opened my eyes it was Mara's face I saw, not my mother's. Her two, concerned, brown eyes searched my four confused ones. I felt so childish and vulnerable, lying there. But the grass was soft and the atmosphere warm, and Mara was speaking soothing words, though their meaning escaped me. I closed all four eyes and just breathed the sweet air of this lost paradise. I wanted an escape, I wanted out of this cruel game they call life. Oh, if I could have just died right there in that peaceful place. Just slip silently away and have nobody miss me.

But, of course, as in the previous instances I did, in fact, not die. At the time I didn't think it was fair. But, who am I to judge what is fair?

Eventually, Mara convinced me to get up and continue walking with her. The Garden really was beautiful. Everything had been carefully placed and planted, each tree in pattern with its fellow trees, each flower with its kind, each smooth stone placed with care. The entire site was like a continual work of art, like the landscape designs back home.

Home…

As we walked I allowed my hooves to absorb some of the strange, soft grass. It was quite bland but the nutrition strengthened my body and eased my mind. At least the grass here was good. We soon came upon a little stream that gurgled quite pleasantly to my ears. I took a drink, the water was clear and cold. Looking around I saw some animals in an open grassy area not too far off. Their bodies and legs resembled an Andalite's though they were somewhat heavier built and had long, thick necks and large heads and funny tails that looked as if they were made from streamers. Most had their heads down and seemed to be eating the grass with their mouths.

I pointed. «What…» I began, struggling to broadcast the words.

Mara turned her eyes in the direction my finger pointed and smiled. "Those are the horses," she said, "They graze here in the Garden." Grazing animals. I pondered the use of such large animals but couldn't think of one.

Then Mara did a strange thing. She put two fingers in her mouth and blew air through them, creating a piercing sound that rose and fell in a most disturbing way. One of the horses raised its head and made a similar sound before moving toward us, cantering easily. A smaller horse ran along side of the larger one, only, it ran in a lopsided way. As I looked I saw that it had a peculiar kind of rectangular box on one of its legs.

The two horses came to a stop a few feet away and Mara strode up to the larger one and stroked its long forehead with her hand.

"This is my horse," she said, turning and gesturing for me to come closer. I did and I allowed her to guide my hand to the creature's soft face. The docile animal pricked its ears forward and flared its wide nostrils at my touch. It pushed its muzzle toward me in an alarming manner and I stepped back.

"It's all right," said Mara, "She is only smelling you." So I stood still as the creature nudged my chest and shoulder with its ridiculous nose. It breathed in my face and then turned back to its mistress. I turned my attention to the little horse that I assumed to be the larger one's offspring. It was darker in color and had a wild look in its eyes. I wondered at the box over its foot, Mara must have seen the question on my face.

"You want to know about his leg?" she said. "Well, he was born with a crooked foot and normally when a foal is born lame like that, the herders put it out. But he was the foal of my horse, and I did not want them to kill him. So I did what I once saw done for a boy with a crooked foot. My friend helped me fashion a special box that straightens the crooked part of the hoof as the foal grows. Someday I will take the box off and his foot will be straight."

I wondered why this Kelbrid girl would go to such trouble for such an insignificant animal. But I suppose I will always have questions about this strange species that can never be answered, only acknowledged. Looking at the lame little foal made me think about my own lameness. One day, this foal would walk and run normally. And I…

I saw an Andalite in the distance. I didn't recognize him as one of the ones I had met earlier. I didn't want another shameful encounter, so I nodded to Mara and turned. In hindsight I saw him turn toward the stream, even as I turned away and I summoned the energy to bring up an unsteady trot and retreated among the trees.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Aximili**

"All I'm saying is, I could get used to it here, y'know? Nice scenery, nice people, pretty girls…" Marco picked at the blade of orange grass he was holding. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground along with Jake and Timon.

"Our women are quite beautiful, are they not?" commented Timon.

"It is kind of like a vacation," said Jake, "A free vacation with all-you-can-eat alien vegetables, goat products, and horsemeat," he made a face.

"Those alligator-like things taste pretty good," commented Marco, "I actually like all the vegetables, eating them is like eating dessert."

Timon laughed, "You make it sound as if your vegetables are disgusting."

"Because they are! Broccoli, spinach…carrots aren't so bad."

«It's very peaceful here,» I remarked, noting the Kelbrid's pleased face, «and I must admit your technology is far superior to any I have yet encountered.»

"And that," said Marco, "is the closest you will ever get to an Andalite confession of their being the inferior race." He laughed at his own joke.

"I was starting to think of home, though," said Jake contemplatively. "When do you think we can leave, Timon?"

Timon shook his head, "I don't know, not anytime soon, I think. My father has been very busy lately, with other affairs."

"Aren't there other people who can do it for him?" asked Marco. "I mean, one guy running this whole beast of a ship? Seems a bit overwhelming, don't you think?"

"Normally, there are others to take his place, but these are strange circumstances and he felt the need to personally oversee to whatever it was that needed overseeing."

Jake murmured something unintelligible, then said, "Well, we're not really in any hurry. We might as well make the best of it."

"And what else have we been doing?" said Marco.

Jake ignored him. "There's also that other Andalite," he said, "and if when we do leave, what are we going to do about her? She'll come with us, right?"

«I do not know,» I admitted, «She is very distant and we have had no communication with her.»

"I don't blame you, she creeps me out too." Said Marco.

«That is not what I said.»

"Uh huh."

It sometimes annoyed me the way Marco knew what I was thinking, but I came to the conclusion that the only way he would know is if he was thinking about the same thing. There was a moment of silence which Timon interrupted.

"My sister has talked to her." He said. We all looked at him. "Mara, she goes to the Andalite often. She told me…" he trailed off.

«What did she tell you?» I pressed.

"I don't think I should say." Said Timon, his blind eyes staring straight ahead.

"We need to know, Timon." Said Jake.

"No, you do not." Jake didn't know what to say to that.

"If she told you, then why wouldn't she tell us?" asked Marco.

Timon turned his head in the direction of Marco's voice, "Because I am her _brother_. And not only her brother, I am her _twin_." This information seemed to surprise the rest of them. There was another awkward silence.

After a while, Jake ventured to ask, "Do you think we could speak to Mara about it?"

"I know not."

"Will she talk to us?"

"I know not."

"Hey, Ax-man, help up out here will you?" piped Marco, "You must be interested."

I looked at him for a moment. «Why would you assume as much? Why would I concern myself with the affairs of a _vecol_?»

"And why would you answer with a question unless you didn't know?" Asked Timon.

"Yeah, yeah, Ax, we know. You Andalites are too high and mighty to care about handicaps, who, possibly need help. But what am I, to your superiorness?" Marco put is hand to his face in mock awe. I stood in irritated silence, knowing any further remark would only encourage him.

"Why can't she just use the morphing technology?" Jake asked suddenly, "I mean, we've done it hundreds of times before to repair our bodies, why shouldn't it work now?"

That was a question I could answer, «Not all Andalite civilians possess morphing technology, even though it is becoming more popular. And we don't know if she has ever used it.»

"…And if she has," said Marco, "she might not have our experience. She might not even know."

«There is one other issue,» I said, «Toreador has neutralized our ability to use it on his ship.» I turned to Timon. «If she has the ability, we will first need to convince Toreador to let her use it. Will you help us?» For a moment he looked doubtful, flipping a twig between his fingers. Finally, he turned his face upward.

"If it is true, and the—Lerinna, can truly heal her body in this way, then I will speak to my father about it."

I was glad to hear that. Not so much for the _vecol_ as for myself, for if she did leave with us it would make things a lot easier on my part. But then a strand of doubt crossed my mind that taking her with us, even fully restored, could make my situation even more complicated.

I excused myself from the others and starting running over one of the open fields. The grass in this part was almost purple and it was inhabited by small, flying creatures the size of my hand. They fluttered up as I passed and then settled back down again. I passed several Kelbrid and jumped one of the plentiful streams before coming to rest on what passed for a hilltop. I gazed out in all directions at the landscape, watching the various Kelbrid performing tasks or simply enjoying the Garden. I saw a few humanoid Kelbrid riding horses, participating in some sort of game. And there were children too.

I raised my eyes to the "sky", inspecting the various tubes and walkways far above me. In the distance there were four Janguads—a species that resembled toads with their wide mouths, rough skin, and bulging eyes—herding goats. An Andalite came galloping up to me, it was Sheten-Farren-Esgarrouth.

«Captain.» he said, saluting me.

«Yes, Sheten,» I said, «What is it?»

«With all due respect, Sir.» said he, «I am curious as to know when we will be leaving this…this…place.»

«Speak your mind, Sheten.»

«Frankly, I am growing impatient, Sir.»

«I see.» I turned all four eyes on him, pausing, «I am sorry to hear that. After all, what a wonderful discovery we have made, don't you think so?»

«Of course, Captain Aximili. All the same…»

«I admit, I do not know when we will be able to leave. It seems we are under the power of these Kelbrid, whether we like it or not.»

Sheten frowned, and I could tell that he was not satisfied with my answer. «As you say, Sir.» he said finally, before sprinting past me. I sighed, Sheten was only slightly younger than me and three times as ambitious. I had chosen him as a crewmember for that fact that he was one of the most accomplished fighter pilots due to his quick thinking and quicker reflexes. But it seemed he had inherited a double-portion of the usual Andalite arrogance.

Most Captains won't say this: but running a ship and crew is sometimes very trying. If you make a mistake it affects the rest of them. It makes you accountable for them. If there is an incident or injury aboard your ship, you, the captain, are the one to blame. So I worried for Sheten, and hoped he would not get himself into any undue trouble. For, if he did, I would be held responsible for his actions in the eyes of my people.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Lerinna**

The following few weeks passed without my notice. Mara still came and spoke to me, but I said nothing in return. I was too ashamed to speak, even to this young girl. I spent my time among the large _therant_ trees in solemn silence. The daylight shining through their soft-pink fronds gave the patch of forest a sense of peace and tranquility. I left their shelter only to eat and drink. On an impulse, I began to perform the rituals again, though I was careful to stay out of sight.

As time passed my body strengthened and the stiff bandages were removed from the limb, it was an ugly sight, the lower part of the break was extremely discolored and the overall bone was quite twisted. The thing didn't even reach the ground when I stood straight, which was just as well, for it was unbearable to put any kind of weight on it.

Though my body strengthened, my spirit grew ever weaker. It was as if something was sapping the life from my very soul. I took to lying down when I slept, a childish thing, I know, but I felt a certain amount of relief when I sprawled in the grass. That, and my crooked leg made normal sleeping while standing up quite precarious.

Many mornings I did not rise from my prone position for some hours. I had not the courage, nor the will to face another day, and so I would lie there, undisturbed, oblivious to the world. Sometimes I would remain so throughout the day, willing death to take me. But even death did not want me. Not yet.

It was on one of these days that Mara again came to see me. "Good day, Lerinna." She said, attempting to coax words out of me.

_What could be so good about it?_ I thought bitterly, not even trying to answer.

"Will you not say anything?" she asked, genuinely concerned. As before, when she had asked me this, I did not even make an attempt, I was sick of speaking in such a halting and difficult way. Mara came and sat beside me in the soft hue cast by the trees. I wished she would go away. I wished she would leave me to suffer in solitude.

Mara took my hand in hers but I pulled away. I didn't want comfort; I didn't want an encouraging word. I wanted…

I didn't know what I wanted. I suppose I wanted nothing. I wanted no one. I wanted my grief to overwhelm me. I wanted to be nowhere. I wanted to be nobody. I wanted a void. Why could she not understand this? It was so simple a thing. Why?

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I did not really believe that all this was actually happening to me. That it was just some horrid nightmare that I was unable to wake from. That I was not really here, that I was not really the pitiful _vecol_, and that this was all happening to someone else far away.

In time, Mara left me. I was alone once more. Even when the girl was with me I had never felt more alone in my entire life. I embraced isolation.

Night came, eventually. I did not stir. I kept my four eyes shut and listened to the silence and the peace. I listened for a long time, hearing the grass rustle slightly or one of the ancient trees creaking. I sensed a change and knew that the morning was not far off. I rose, stiffly, and stretched my legs before me.

After turning in several circles I limped out from beneath my trees toward one of the streams. After standing quietly for a moment I dipped my uninjured fore-hoof into the gurgling flow.

_From the water that gave birth to us,_ I thought to myself. I pulled the hoof out and ground it into the streamside turf.

_To the grass that feeds us,_ I looked toward the ceiling of the Garden, then down into the water.

_We rise to the stars,_ I raised one arm above my head.

_Freedom is my only cause. Duty to my people, my only guide._ The words were meaningless to me.

_Obedience to my prince, my only glory,_ What prince? My prince was dead.

_The destruction of my enemies, my most solemn vow,_ Vows meant nothing to me now. My enemies had destroyed me.

_I, Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae, offer my life._ I raised my tail blade to my neck in conclusion of the ceremony.

I stood, poised in that position for a long moment. The hard blade was warm against my throat. I could feel the razor's edge on my flesh.

There would be no mourning for me, should my tail slip.

I stared straight ahead into empty space and took a shuddering breath. _The poor aristh was tortured mercilessly, she was young, she was broken, she was made into a _vecol_, and now she had come to take her own life. None will miss her; none will remember her sorrow._

I cast a fervent glance around myself. Nobody was in sight. No witnesses. A thread of doubt entered my mind, fear. I lowered my tail. What was I doing?

_I am casting off Life,_ I thought, fiercely,_ I will not live this way. I do not want to be what I have become. I _will_ not._

I raised the blade once more and turned my face to the sky.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Lerinna**

«_Coward._»

I jerked. The single, whispered word was like a slap in the face. As I searched for the source of the voice I felt a sharp, stinging pain on my collar; the spasm had caused me to nick myself.

«You…coward!» screamed the voice. With a sudden horror I realized it was my own. It was _me_.

«You selfish…spawn of…a…» I flung the blade away and gripped my head in my hands. «No…no…please, no.» But I wasn't finished yet, «After all…you…went thr-through…all—» I was cut off by an excruciating pain in my head. Warm blood dribbled from the cut down my chest. In a panic I clutched at the tiny wound, but it was little more than a scratch. The voice continued, unchecked, inside my own mind.

_All that pain and suffering, everything, I want to end it now?_

_That was the general idea._ I shot back at myself. _I'm finished. The universe doesn't need sad creatures like me._

_Of course I'm not finished! You think after all that, I'm finished? Have I lost my mind? How can I stop now after enduring torture and refusing to succumb to it? Escaping with naught more than a bum leg, others have had worse!_

_Leave me alone! I want to die!_

_No, I do not! I will not take the coward's way out! Listen to me, me, I will not let me do this._

_There is nothing left for me!_

_No, I'm wrong, there is one thing left and that's my life._

_My life is worthless!_

_It's only as worthless as I believe it to be._

_And I believe it to be worthless!_

_Well, I don't!_

_Stop! Stop! Quiet!_

_Am I going insane?_

_Yes._

_No._

_Is it possible?_

_Possibly… _I rubbed my temple and slid my thumb over my brow.

_I'm all talking at once. One at a time, please!_

_I have become a lunatic._

_No, I haven't._

_Yes, I have._

_The chance exists._

_Shh, stop talking._

_Am I talking to myself?_

_No._

_Yes._

_Who am I?_

That question was met with silence. I said it allowed.

«Who…am I?»

I knelt down and peered at my reflection in the water. The face was well shaped, almost fierce, smeared with blood and completely unfamiliar. The fine chin, the high forehead, the delicate eye-stalks, the hollow eyes and haunted expression, they were all of them alien to me. Who am I? Who am I really? Or, perhaps the question was: _what_ am I?

It was as if I was only now becoming aware of my own existence. I know that sounds absurd, but it's true. I was here. _I_ am_ here. I am myself._ No, that wasn't right. I was far, far from being myself. Very far. I was crazy. I had 'gone off the deep end'.

_Quick! What is 786__Q__ divided by the _intel_ number?_

_It is 8.003217554__Q__._

_Well, if I'm crazy, at least I'm still capable of simple mathematics._

_What is that supposed to mean?_

_It means…Actually, never mind._

'_It means' what?_

_Nothing, it does not mean anything!_

_I'm lying to me._

_No, I'm not. I'm simply stating that if I can still do a math problem then I can always be of some use to somebody._

_I have some doubt in my logic._

_Of course I do, I'm talking to myself!_

_Well, stop then._

_You stop. I'll talk._

_I need to talk._

_No I don't._

_Yes I do, if I stop then I may think about killing myself again._

_Disgraceful!_

_I know, that's why I'm talking._

_It's very distracting._

_I know._

There was silence for a few minutes.

_What do I do now?_

_What do I mean 'what do I do now?' I am still an _aristh_, I still have duties to my prince. I will go to Captain Aximili and be assigned._

_I just tried to kill myself! I'm disgusting. And I'm talking to myself!_

_A minor detail. Just try to ignore it._

_A _minor detail_? Minor detail indeed! I should have my tail cut off for the attempt of such an act of cowardice! I am a _failure_, do you here me? I ought to be banished or exiled or locked up!_

_But I'm not, and I won't be. Remember, there is a score to settle._

_Efflit…_

_Yes, Efflit._

_But I can't do anything to him while I'm here, there are certain precautions taken onboard that prevent that type of thing. Numberless invisible securities, I remember Mara telling me._

_It didn't stop me. I cut myself, remember?_ Even as my hand pressed the spot.

_It must be different when inflicting violence on oneself. However, I doubt that the others will stay here forever. We shall all leave someday._

_And when Efflit is away…_

_He's mine._

_Yes._

I stood in a still satisfaction. I would make Efflit pay for what he'd done. Then I paled. What had I almost done? Had I really almost committed suicide? It was the most unbelievable act. Those who did it were remembered with disdain for their cowardice. It is one thing to take one's own life as a prisoner than give oneself up to the enemy. But to do it without cause other than your own pitiful feelings is next to being treasonous. Anyone who does it is left unburied. Instead, they are taken away and burned in a secluded area without ceremony or sorrow. Leaving their family disgraced.

It was a selfish, disgusting, abhorred act.

And it had almost been me.

I shuddered. Standing silently, my whole body shook. I burned as if with fever. Losing my balance I staggered to one side, temporarily forgetting the leg I used it for support.

The jolt of sharp pain caused me to trip and I tumbled over the bank and into the stream. I struggled to my feet as water dripped from my soaked body. The cold wetness brought me back to my senses. I stepped cautiously onto firm ground again, and, not bothering to shake the water off, half-ran-half-stumbled across the open field.

I came upon a vine-covered wall and followed it for about one hundred meters. There was a door, I was at the edge of the Garden. Without hesitation I strode confidently through the passage and got a strange feeling of comfort in the rounded tunnel. I didn't have time to ponder that feeling, though I would have liked to, but my mind was racing with a hundred different thoughts all at once. Questions and answers whirled around in endless circles, each coming back around to the beginning.

I surpassed several Kelbrid, some still yawning and rubbing their eyes. The day had started, and what a glorious new start it was. My hearts felt as light as my feet as I danced through the corridors. After a time the thought slowly dawned on me that I did not know where I was going. I could have easily found my way back, but didn't feel the need.

Some minutes later I came upon one of the trading places where shops and stands were just beginning to open. Soon the area would be full of laughing, talking, jovial people. That was how the Kelbrid were, taking pleasures in simple things and not knowing or caring of all the troubles of the galaxies. The wars and plagues were far off myths to them.

A young child ran past me with a playmate. They both stopped and stared when they caught sight of me. After a moment, one of them raised its hand and smiled at me. I smiled back and raised my hand in return. The two giggled and ran off to join their peers. They were all such strange creatures.

I continued on my way, meeting people and saying little. A few hours later found me near one of the communal dwelling places. Many were sitting on long benches and listening to an elder who seemed to be teaching some kind of school. I passed them by and drew closer to the dwelling. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone who looked familiar.

Mara. She was standing on the far side of the space, talking to another of her species who seemed to be male. A flower passed from his hands to hers and he quickly walked off. Mara noticed me then and turned, a smile lighting up her face.

"Lerinna!" she said, pleasantly surprised. She ran up to me on her two legs and hugged me, a thing the two-legged creatures do with their arms in greeting. It was awkward for me, because I was not used to such contact. Andalites never throw their arms around one another, though it was a comical thought.

I smiled. «Hello, Mara.» I managed without much difficulty. «Who were…you…speaking too?»

Color flushed Mara's face as she held the flower under her nose. "Oh, just a friend," then added, "A very good friend." She lowered the blossom. "You are better?"

«Yes…much bet…better. I…am look…looking for…Cap…tain Aximili. Do you…know where I…might…find him?»

"Maybe, I saw him last night near the main dining hall. At least, I think it was him. You are sometimes hard to tell apart."

«I…could say…the…same for you.» Mara laughed and so did I.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Aximili**

I watched an elderly Siri as it worked some kind of strange, three-sided loom. Fine cloth was produced with bright patterns of color. I watched as the Siri's three, long fingers expertly wove the shining threads into and over themselves. The process was almost hypnotic, and I was not the only one observing. In fact, several other Kelbrid came and just sat and watched as if it was some kind of mesmerizing entertainment.

Sheten stood beside me, not watching, just standing there. He seemed to be unable to occupy himself in any way, though the rest of our comrades were able to find plenty to do. Day after day I could sense him growing tense and uneasy though I could not think of any reason why he should be among these quiet people. He never said anything either other than what was necessary. He just kept his peace and stood rigidly, walked nervously, and started easily.

I had just come to the decision to confront him in the evening when the Andalites all went back to the Garden to sleep, when the unexpected happened.

I first noticed Sheten shift his weight from hoof to hoof nervously. Then my stalk-eyes detected the source of his discomfort: Lerinna the _vecol_ was approaching us and with her Toreador's daughter Mara. As I watched them Mara said something to Lerinna and then departed. I peeled my main eyes from the weaving and turned about to face her. Something was different about her, something had changed. She was the same Andalite I had met so many weeks ago without a doubt, the scars and twisted leg confirmed the identity; but there was a difference.

It was the way she walked, I concluded, the way she carried herself. Proudly, tail held high, eyes no longer fixed on the ground but alert and searching. The eyes…

The eyes still disturbed me. They were still haunted and piercing, though, now there was a knew light in them and that addition gave her a very fierce look.

As she drew near Sheten became so stiff I thought he might snap. Coming to a halt the female stood proudly before us, boldly meeting my eyes.

«Cap…tain Aximili.» She addressed me, and I detected something queer about the way she spoke. I also found it odd that her fur seemed to have been recently drenched.

«Yes.» I said.

«I…am _aristh_…Lerin…na-Semitur…Arronae.» The girl appeared to be having difficulty using thought-speech and I pondered that. I was also surprised to hear her address herself as an _aristh_, since females training for military service were rare.

«_Aristh_ Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae?» I repeated, to be sure.

«Yes,» was the delayed reply. «I apolo…gize Prince…Aximili…I have…been…lack-king in my…duties.»

I shook off my surprise. «You are pardoned, _aristh_. Your circumstances were understandable.» I said in the way that was expected of me. The look on her face made me think that she might have actually wanted a reprimand.

«Thank you, Prince…Aximili.» she paused, glancing at Sheten. Then, turning all eyes on him, «I…know…you.»

Sheten's head jerked, and he forced himself to look at her. «What are you talking about? I've never seen you before today.»

Lerinna laughed a rueful, broken laugh. Sheten flinched at the sound, I was becoming concerned.

«No…you…would…not…recognize…me.» Lerinna struggled to continue, «You're Sheten-Farren-Esgarrouth…are you…not?» She breathed deeply, «We were…in the same tail…combat…training together. I…bested you…in the tournament.»

Sheten's face was drawn, he frowned, «You might have.» he admitted. «And it's Prince Sheten now.»

«I…did. They said…it was a…good…match…since…we shared…the…same birthday…to the…hour.»

«I do not see how this is relevant.» said Sheten. Without warning he relaxed and the change was so sudden I thought he might lose his feet. He didn't, he stood, almost cocky, hind legs slouching a bit. «Besides, you only enjoyed a single triumph. You lost the second and third matches.»

«A stroke… of bad…luck.» Unperturbed by Sheten's boasts, «I'd challenge…you…to a match…now if…I was…not so out of…practice.» Lerinna flicked her tail, then whipped it hard around her head, cracking the air. Several heads turned to look, then went back to whatever they had been doing.

Sheten smirked, «You seem to forget your place, _aristh_. I do not bother myself with the training of cadets. But if your set on a match, go ask old Matroff and I'm sure he'll give you a lesson.»

«I have no assignments for an _aristh_, at the moment,» I interrupted before the discussion could really heat up, «Although, _aristh_ Lerinna, if you are willing to provide a detailed account of your imprisonment, your rank may decidedly raised.»

Lerinna's face darkened for a moment and she looked past me, staring into space. Her brow furrowed, then lifted, then fell again. She seemed to be having trouble finding what to say next.

«Another thing,» I said, «Concerning the injuries that you sustained—»

She looked back to me, sharply interrupting, «I am fully…capable of…performing any duties…assigned…to…me, I…assure you.» she added, «Captain.»

Her defiance proved two things: one, she had the determination to carry out her claim and two, a reprimand was in order for her now and in the future if she did not control her thoughts. _Arisths_ must show respect to their superiors, circumstances made no difference there.

Unfortunately, Sheten beat me to it. «Do you forget to whom you speak?» He burst out, all calmness evaporating. «This is Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil! Aximili of Earth. Captain of the _Intrepid_. The brother of the legend Elfangor has become a legend himself and you, a lowly _aristh_, have the nerve to—»

«Be still, Sheten.» The words were plain but the voice was harsh, he cringed. I stood a few inches taller than both of them and I used that height now to make a point of who was in charge here, forcing them to look up into my face.

«You do forget your place, _aristh_ Lerinna.» I stated. Her hollow stare never wavered. «No matter the trials you faced, right now you are and _aristh_, and if you wish to remain in service you must show the proper respect to those above you. As I was saying,» not giving her a chance to answer I went on, «concerning your injuries. I am afraid they cannot be ignored and that sometime in the future they may hinder you. In your time at the Academy you were trained in the use of morphing technology.» I paused for confirmation.

«Yes, Prince…Aximili.»

«There have been certain debates recently about its use for medical purposes. You see, if your body is wounded the morphing technology can be used to repair the damage. Morphing uses DNA to reconstruct your body, therefore, if a wound is sustained you simply need to morph another animal and back and your body is restored. As if the injury never happened.» Even as I said this I could see her doubt. She contemplated this new information for a moment. Sheten looked at me as if I had said something bizarre. Most Andalites saw morphing as a way of spying or improving the odds in a battle, not as a healing device. Then I added, «At this time, however, morphing is impossible. The Kelbrid have taken certain precautions against it and it will take some convincing before they would allow us to use it. There is the chance they will not allow it and you must wait until we leave their ship.»

After a long pause I was beginning to doubt that Lerinna would have an answer. Then she broke the silence with a question completely unrelated to the topic.

«Prince Aximili, please…forgive me, but…what is it that…you…seem…to be so famous…for? I've heard of…Elfangor, of…course, but only knew…you as his…brother.»

For a minute I wasn't sure how to answer. No one had ever asked that question before, everybody just _knew_. Meaning she had been a prisoner for much longer than I had originally guessed, if she had heard nothing of the war on Earth.

«It's a long story,» I said, using the human phrase. «I would prefer to relay the details at another time. Perhaps this evening or tomorrow in the Garden.»

«Yes…Prince…Axi…mili.» she said, though the question was still on her face.

«In the meantime, I have no assignments for you, so you are free to spend your time however you like until we come to a decision on what action to take.» I said, «We have all made a habit of meeting to report and discuss this topic as necessary before dusk near the Garden's east-side pool.» Emphasizing "east" as there was really no polar magnetic attraction on a ship in outer space. The Kelbrid must have just decided that their home was large enough to refer to certain points as north, south, east, and west. «I will expect your coming from now on.»

«Yes, Sir.» She stood there for another moment, seemingly uncertain.

«You may go, now.» I stated, thinking that the damage done to her might extend to her mind as well. More specifically her memory, she inadvertently gave the impression to me that she was having difficulty recalling the proper protocol expected of her.

Then again, I still was not certain of the amount of time spent on the Blade ship, inwardly shuddering at the thought. Even so, if she truly wanted to resume what she had started, I supposed she would just _have_ to either remember or relearn what should have been burned into her mind before she had even started seriously training. And if she couldn't...

Well...


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Lerinna**

I felt frustrated. I had gone to my prince for an assignment, to find a purpose, only to be turned away with a reprimand. I stalked away, holding my head high. Determined to…

To what? There was nothing to do. No assignment, no order, no purpose.

_ Who does he think he really is? _I thought, _His underlings might think he is great and powerful, but I hardly know him. He cannot be much older than I am anyway. _

_ No, but, he said he would explain later. _

_ What about Sheten?_ The thought surprised me.

_What _about_ Sheten? He's always been that way._

_ I'll challenge him, then._

_ No, I can't. I'm only an _aristh_, and I don't have the authority._

_ I would lose anyway. _It wasn't a lie when I'd told the captain I was out of practice. I didn't have many chances at that while I was strung up in the torture chamber.

I found my way back to the Garden through another entrance and picked up my pace over the open field. Practice, that's what I needed. The long hours of training at the academy had taught me that no matter how good you thought you were, you could always improve. And I could start with running.

Lengthening my stride, I did my best to hold my balance on three legs. I lost it once but didn't fall. Determined not to fall. I kept my stalk eyes on the ground before me, looking ahead with my main eyes. I practiced easy and sharp turns, pivoting on my back legs, moving quickly and in balance.

Aware that an hour or two had passed, I slowed my pace to walking and took deep gasping breaths of the sweet air. Perspiration dampened my chest and stomach. I took a quick drink of the main stream before proceeding on to the shelter and privacy of my _therant_ trees. Again, as I passed beneath the branches, I felt the strange sense of security of the shelter above my head. I hadn't really thought about it before but it seemed to me that enclosed spaces were a comfort now, instead of a fear.

A comfort? All my life I had hated confinement just as every other Andalite that draws breath. The open grassy meadows are our haunts, where we roam. Yet now I felt more comfortable with limited space around me.

A cold finger of fear wormed its way into my mind. How long had I really been in a confined prison on the Blade ship? Long enough to have given me a slight sense of agoraphobia. The thought was ridiculous. But even now I was moving farther and farther into the trees, away from the open, and as I did so I felt better.

_I've changed_, I thought, _I've really changed._ And more than just on the outside.

I tried to shake the unease off and forced myself to continue on past the center point and through to the other side of the giant _therants_. Emerging into the open once more the restlessness returned. Unconsciously I wanted to go back under the shade of the branches, hidden away, safe.

I frowned, _Stop thinking about it_, I scolded.

A flutter of movement caught my eye and I turned to see a large brown bird perched on one of the fat branches. I'd seen it somewhere before, but couldn't quite remember. The bird ran its sharp beak over the flight feathers of one wing, putting them in place.

Then I remembered. It was the bird I'd seen the day I had met the others. It used thought-speak. A _nothlit_ I think.

The bird turned his glowering golden eyes on me, «You're that Andalite everyone's been talking about,» it said, «The one that came off the blade ship.»

«Yes.» I said, «And you…are To…bias.»

«That's right.»

«And…you…came from…»

«Earth.»

«…Earth.» I echoed, «You fought…in…the…war.»

«Uh huh, we all did.» He stretched the same wing.

«I…was—am…an _aristh_, I…was…stationed on a…dome…ship before…»

«Before you were captured,» he finished for me.

«Yes.»

«You don't quite talk right.»

The statement surprised me and I shrugged, a gesture I had seen Mara do, «No I…do…not.»

«You must be very brave.»

«Or very…foolish.»

«To withstand the torture, I mean. It's hard. I know what it's like.»

«Do you?»

«Well, slightly different but the outcome is the same.»

«Which…is…?»

«You change. Something is different. You see the world differently. And you never forget.»

«What…you say…is…true.» And I wondered what his sufferings might have been. The conversation dropped after that and I allowed my eyes to drift off to stare into the distance. Then I turned all eyes to the spot, trying to see.

«What the…» I heard Tobias say, but I was too intent on trying to focus on what I saw. From here it looked like a large group of Kelbrid men riding horses across the field, stirring up dust with all their heavy hooves.

«Oh my word!» Exclaimed the bird.

«What? What…is…it? What's…»

«The riders, they're killing people. They're running down their own kind!»

My eyes widened. What was happening? Why?

«Oh man, I gotta find Jake.»

«Aximili…» I stammered, I had to find the Captain. Tobias had already taken wing and I whirled around, galloping lopsidedly as fast as I could back the way I'd come.

As I came around the trees I spotted another Andalite. I aimed for him and he looked alarmed. It was Hartan.

«Prince…Har...tan!» I gasped, skidding to a stop, «Cap…tain Aximili…where…?»

«Young one, what's happened?»

«Something…bad. Please…help…me find…him.» I could see the confusion on his face and prayed that he wouldn't ask more questions.

After a frozen second he turned, «Follow me,» he said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Prince Hartan led me to the edge of the Garden at a swift pace that I struggled to match. We took another of the numerous side passages that led from there, into the network. Passing citizen after citizen that was oblivious to the violence unfolding in their peaceful home.

Emerging into another open area that I could think of no use for, Hartan stopped and looked around, all eyes searching.

«This is where I last saw—» he was cut off as two-dozen men came thundering through another, wider passage, waving their swords high above their heads.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEW!

Then I noticed not all of them held swords as three of them fired dracon beams above the heads of the crowd. Several people screamed and dropped to the floor, others looked about, dazed, not comprehending the danger. Several people were yelling and some moved toward the riders in an attempt to hinder them.

That proved to be a mistake as the three wielding dracon beams leveled their weapons toward the protesters.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

A Kelbrid and another alien I did not recognize screamed and fell to the floor. One writhed in pain, the other did not move at all. The rest of the resistors retreated quickly.

In the confusion I didn't notice the figure of a third Andalite come up behind us until he shouted.

«What in _yaolin_ is going on here!» His broadcast thought-speak holler was head by all and many heads turned, including mine.

«Capt…» I started, but then I saw it was Prince Sheten. He scowled at me before turning to glare at the horsemen. Then came the person I had been searching for.

He strode forward, holding himself like royalty. His countenance commanding respect from all gathered around him.

«You heard him,» said Captain Aximili, his tone demanding an answer.

The lead horseman stepped his mount forward, brandishing the long blade of shining steel. His face was one I recognized. It was Garand.

"Stay out of this, infidel. This is not of your concern." His voice was icy and hardly recognizable as the gentle one that had encouraged me to stand again.

Another horse pushed its way forward, the rider was clumsy and fumbled at the reigns while struggling to balance. He was holding a dracon beam weapon.

"Let me kill this Andalite scum," he said. It was Efflit 1318.

Rage flared up inside me. Pure, undiluted hatred.

I took a step forward «You—»

«Be still, _aristh_.» Aximili ordered. I obeyed, grudgingly, and instead bored my eyes into the Yeerk. But he wasn't even looking at me; his entire attention was focused on the Captain.

"No, Efflit," Garand said, "We have no quarrel with them."

"You don't," Efflit raised the dracon beam until it was level with Aximili's head. "But, _I_ do."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Sheten**

My name is Sheten-Farren-Esgarrouth, prince and fighter pilot. At this moment struggling to suppress a quick temper. These inferior creatures were dragging us into their acrimonious politics and petty skirmishes whether they meant to or not. And apparently this group had sided with the Yeerks. I was ready to behead every last one of them, I had tolerated them so far with draining consequences but this was most certainly.

"Efflit!" the human/Kelbrid Garand shouted in a failing attempt to reign in the scum. But before he or I could make a move a blur of russet feathers came seemingly out of nowhere.

"TSEEER!" shrieked the _nothlit_. The bird flew like a missile and raked its razor talons forward to close around the weapon in Efflit's hand. The dracon beam fired wildly as the Yeerk made a desperate attempt to maintain control over it; in doing so he was unseated from his horse and fell to the ground. There was a satisfying _snap_ as he landed awkwardly on one of his legs and a brief pause before the pain could be registered. Then he screamed and moaned and made other unpleasant sounds with his mouth.

Seizing the opportunity I leapt forward, tail arched. Seeing me the Yeerk made a pitiful attempt at escape, crawling along the floor backwards. I stood over him and brought one hoof down hard on his chest, forcing him to his back.

"Stop, Andalite," ordered Garand, but he was not near enough to stop me, none of them were. One stalk eye looked behind me at the others, no one moved, they only watched. Hartan looked worried, the girl was eager, but the Captain's face was unreadable.

"Andalite, you have no quarrel with us," Garand reminded me.

«You are correct, I have no quarrel with you. But,» I glared down at the cowering Yeerk; «I have with _them._» As I said that last word I shifted my weight forward to more effectively pin the disgusting creature to the ground.

"I've never done anything to you," Efflit whimpered so quietly I barely heard him, but the words stirred up rage.

«You lie! You worthless, sap-sucking, worm.» I pressed my hoof still harder into his soft body and he gasped as the air was forced from his lungs.

«Your kind is responsible for the death of my family,» I whispered, «Murderer.» With that, I brought my tail down on his neck, and Efflit 1318 was no more.

Stepping back from the corpse, I lifted my head. Silently challenging anyone who would dare to protest. I noticed the hawk Tobias perched atop one of the Kelbrid's many odd pieces of furniture, the dracon beam was nowhere in sight. I heard Garand mutter under his breath, something about 'rabble-rousers'. Then he spoke to us directly.

"So be it. Know that this does no involve you, for you are aliens here and do not understand our ways."

Captain Aximili stepped up to him, saying, «With all due respect, sir, it would seem to me that we are involved whether either of us like it or not,» he shrugged, a gesture he'd picked up spending so much time on Earth, «It would be inevitable.»

You couldn't mistake the threat in Garand's voice, "Then I suggest you make an effort to avoid the conflict."

Oh, the irony.

Out of another wide passage thundered fifty-some horsemen lead by Toreador. The man's silver mane was unmistakable as he rode proudly, sword held high. The two riders remaining who held dracon weapons fired toward him but the energy beams were weirdly drawn into the shining blade and I began to think the Kelbrid were not quite as simple as they pretended to be.

The whole company came to a halt, the horses lining up for a charge. Toreador rode before them all, calling out to the opposing side.

"There is no need for this, Garand." By now the cavern had been cleared of people and nothing stood in the way of either party.

Garand shouted back, "Yes there is, Toreador! You cling to your foolish ways of old, you leave us weak and vulnerable, you have declined from the strong leader I once knew and now it is time to turn that around!"

"I have only ever done good for the people, for our people! We have never been better off than we are now, do you wish to bring our golden age crashing down out of your own selfishness?" Toreador's horse paced and snorted, sensing his master's anxiety.

"We have become ineffectual and overconfident in ourselves. Remember what happened when the black ship fired upon us! We were wounded, lives were lost! We made the mistake of being careless!"

"And you try to restore our strength by tearing us apart from the inside?"

But Garand ignored his former leader, rearing his horse up in a challenge.

"Give up, my friend. You are hopelessly outnumbered two to one." Toreador was obviously trying to end this confrontation peacefully, trying to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. I perceived that three of the other Andalite warriors had joined us in observing the proceedings as well as some of the humans from Earth.

Garand sat self-confidently atop his steed, "You see, you're weak. You won't attack us even though you could easily obliterate us. But even if you're forced you won't attack us." The man made a gesture with his hand and another horseman strode forward, grasping one end of a rope in his hand. The other end of the rope was tied around the wrists of a human girl. The rider jerked her roughly forward so everyone would easily see her.

Toreador's face fell. He slumped, slightly. The girl shook her long hair out of her face, when she saw Toreador her eyes widened.

"Father!" she cried in a shaking voice. The creature was terrified.

«Mara.» Someone murmured. A quick glance back confirmed it was the _vecol_, Lerinna.

"If you or your men make any attempt on us…" Garand pointed the tip of his sword down toward Mara's throat, "she dies." He allowed for a moment to let the threat sink in. Then continued, "You will now order a retreat and await further instruction," he paused and when his orders were not immediately carried out he gave a nod to Mara's captor. The tether was yanked hard and the girl was pulled of her feet and landed a yard or so behind where she had previously stood.

"_Now_, Toreador."

Defeated, the other leader did as he was told and in less than a minute his loyal followers had completely disappeared the way they had come.

Having dealt with his enemy, Garand now turned toward our group, "I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

And there would be no arguing with him.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Menderash**

"So, what do we do now?" Santorelli asked of no one in particular. The Animorphs and Andalites had assembled for an unofficial meeting to discuss what we should or shouldn't do concerning the Kelbrid's feud.

"I don't think we should do anything," said Marco, "I mean, it's not exactly our place to interfere. I think we should just let these guys work it out themselves."

«It all just happened so fast,» Tobias mused, «And I've been watching these guys, this conflict came out of nowhere.»

«But we do not know how this will all turn out, they might destroy themselves.» an Andalite said.

«But this type of campaign may not be the first. Perhaps it is normal to challenge the current leader if someone thinks he is not performing his duty the way he ought,» Aximili put in, and there were several murmurs of agreement.

«Civil war is not normal,» muttered Sheten.

"What could we do anyway?" Jeanne asked, "Of course, you Andalites have your tails as natural weapons but we can't morph."

"If only we had some swords," laughed Marco, "I'm sure they'd be terrified of us!"

"Now, there's an idea," said Santorelli, tapping his chin with his index finger, thinking.

"The question at hand is whether or not to take any sort of action," I reminded them.

«I agree with Captain Aximili,» said another Andalite, «Perhaps we should leave matters as they are.»

«But most of these people are innocents, they are not even involved, yet they are being hurt.» Prince Hartan.

"What side would we even take?" said Jake.

Santorelli snorted, "The opposite of the Yeerks, of course!"

"But is that really the right side to be on?" Jake asked. When he received no answer he continued, "Would we really be fighting for the right cause, or would we just be butting in where we don't belong?"

"We're Americans," Marco mumbled, "It's what we do."

"Which question were you answering, Marco?"

Marco shrugged, "It would fit either."

"Sure, that's very helpful," Jake said with sarcasm.

"Glad to be of service," Marco answered, equally sarcastic.

«What does that mean?» Sheten asked quietly, a confused expression on his face.

Aximili shook his head; «It would take too long to explain.»

"And you still wouldn't get it," said Marco.

The next several minutes were spent debating the points. Almost everyone established that it would be folly to interfere, in an indirect fashion.

«We should do nothing,» Aximili said finally, «until we know more. Our real problem is that we do not know enough and it would be foolish to act without knowing more.»

Jake nodded, "You're right." And everyone else agreed.

«That's it then?» said Tobias, «We wait.»

"Patience is a virtue," Jeanne said.

"Tobias," Jake said, "In the meantime, keep an eye peeled. Let us know if anything else happens."

«Sure thing.»

«It is decided,» Aximili said, «Unless, someone has any objections?» No one did and the two groups dispersed, the majority going back to their sleeping quarters or to the Garden. I did not know where to go. I was an Andalite trapped in a human body by choice, and now, I was beginning to doubt my decision. I wasn't really Andalite and I wasn't really human. My two feet carried me into the Garden without my notice.

I saw Captain Aximili ahead of me. He conferred with several individuals before noticing me. He slowed his pace to match mine.

«Menderash,» he said to me, «I have just perceived that our _aristh_ has not been with us. You haven't happened to see her anywhere?»

"The _vecol_, sir?" I shook my head, "No, Prince Aximili."

He frowned, «Neither has anyone else.» And without offering further elucidation, turned off in a different direction.

That put the thought in my mind. The girl gave the feeling of unpredictability, as if something radical was hidden behind those haunted eyes. That was probably the reason for the general unease of not knowing where she was.

_Strange_, I thought, _That somehow, the train of thought comes around back to her._ But I shrugged it off; there were other things that needed pondering.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Lerinna**

Darkness encompassed me, I couldn't see, I was blind and floating. Floating high above. Above reality, above light, above time and space. A void. Nothingness. Emptiness. Alone.

I opened my eyes. I was in a place that was familiar to me, but familiar in an eerie way. I was surrounded by black walls, in a tiny room. A cage. I tried to move but couldn't, my forelegs didn't reach the floor, my back legs were shackled. I tried to move my arms, but they were held above my head, holding me up.

In a flash I realized where I was. I was back on the Blade ship, strung up in one of the torture chambers. I kicked and struggled but in vain. I felt different. I felt…

There was a whirring sound as a door opened before me. Visser Three stepped into the room, his face a mask of evil. Efflit was behind him, fidgeting nervously, but he had a triumphant expression on his face.

«Ah, I see our guest is awake.» The Visser's voice was awful to hear, full of malice and arrogance. «I am putting her in your charge, Efflit 1318. See if you can't coax her to speak.»

"Yes, Visser." Efflit nodded his head up and down. I glowered at them, pure hate for their race rising within me.

The Visser noticed. «Do you have something to say, Andalite spawn?»

I continued to glare, without speaking, attempting to stamp my hoof in a rude gesture. He saw the insult, apparently he'd been having a bad day because he lost his temper not for the first time.

He came forward to return my defiant stare with his own evil expression. «Something to tell me, have you?» I remained stubbornly silent. «No?» The tail of the Visser's stolen body was a blur as it cracked down on my right foreleg. I cried out in pain as the bone snapped. «Then it would be wise not to call attention to yourself!» he screamed. But I hardly heard him as the raw pain stabbed up my leg.

But the Yeerks took no notice.

«All yours, Efflit. Do not disappoint me.» And with those final words the Visser took his leave. I was left writhing against my bonds in agony with Efflit for company. I knew I would die there, but before I did I would suffer.

Yes, I would suffer.

I clutched my head between my hands, trying to stifle the raging torrent of thoughts, ideas, and notions. My mind was literally racing, and not in the sense you are used to hearing. It hurt, as if something was tearing apart my brain neuron by neuron. My own silent voice was my enemy, I couldn't stop forming sentences that made no significance.

_Fighting, killing, death. Efflit stop. Mara, who is Efflit? Garand is going to…No, please jump. Look into the water, it is wet. It is blood. Blood means pain. Death. Death. Death…_

I plummeted to the floor, shaking violently. I had no notion of where I was. No comfort, no respite. The screaming silent agony inside me was my only companion. I don't know how long the seizure carried on, I had no sense of time. To me it was an eternity.

I opened my eyes. Darkness encompassed me, like a veil, hiding me and hiding things from me. It was safe; I was safe in the dark where nothing could find me.

Where was I? It didn't matter, I liked it where I was. It was quiet, calm, and peaceful. There was no disturbance in the air or on the ground. Then a disturbing thought came to me.

_Am I dead?_

The question ran around and around. After a considerable amount of time I came the conclusion that I was, in fact, still living. I became aware I was lying uncomfortably on a hard, smooth surface. Pushing myself up to a kneeling position I felt suddenly exposed. It is one thing to be in the dark while lying down, but when you stand up there is an alarming sense that you may suddenly fall over the edge of a very large, very deep pit. I felt as much at that moment. I was blind, I could not see my hand when I held it just a few inches in front of my face.

Something stirred in the back of my mind, a rhyme I had once heard from somewhere I couldn't remember. Or perhaps I had read it.

_It cannot be seen,_

_It cannot be felt,_

_ It cannot be heard,_

_ It cannot be smelt._

_ It hides behind stars,_

_ And under hills,_

_ And empty holes it fills._

_ It comes first and_

_ Follows after._

_ Ends life._

_ Kills laughter._

An enigma or riddle of some sort, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

_The answer is Dark._

_ The Dark._

Panic gripped me and I sank back to the floor, shivering. Then I was appalled. I stood instantly, wincing as my bag leg was dragged upward. Disgusted with my childish fear. The simple absence of light was no reason to…

Snap!

I froze. Eyes vainly trying to pierce the blackness.

Snap! Snap!

I turned this way and that, endeavoring to determine the source of the sound.

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!

It was like many metal vices cracking their jaws together in quick succession.

«Who…is there?» I said, almost whispering. The snapping paused for a moment, then resumed at double the speed and coming closer.

Snapsnapsnapsnapsnapsnapsnap!

Something touched me and I jerked away. I swung my tail blindly and hit something hard. Sparks flew as I shaved off a flake of cold metal.

SNAP! SNAP! The thing moved around me, circling, I could hear it but not see it. I waited, calculating the noise, then struck again, lighting quick. This time the blade penetrated the metallic surface into something softer.

SNAPSNAPSNAPSNAPSNAPSNAP! The snapping was hyper speed. The thing pulled away and I yanked my tail out of it. The Snapper hurried away. It didn't take me long to realize that my tail was glowing a slight, purplish hue. I turned back toward the creature and saw that it was leaving a trail of glowing ooze behind it. Quite a bit of it had congealed into a puddle before me and I hesitantly dipped my tail into it. The goo harbored a strange but not unpleasant smell and it clung easily to the blade, creating a lavender lantern.

Holding my light ahead of me, I started in the opposite direction of the Snapper. Stepping cautiously across the slick floor and wincing as a sharp stab of pain ran up and down my twisted leg, I made my way cautiously. Step by step, I felt as if I was walking through an endless space, a void, forever.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Aximili**

"You are the leader of the Andalites?"

I turned and saw one of the human/Kelbrid standing alone, watching me. His look was suspicious but also curious and there was determination in his stance. He was dressed completely in navy blue, with a white sash around his waste. A sword hung from his right hip.

«I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil, the Captain of what is left of my crew,» I replied.

"Yes," he said, "You are their leader." I nodded. "You are looking for something." It wasn't a question and I nodded again.

«Yes, I am. An Andalite _aristh_, a young female.»

"The one from the Blade ship."

«Yes, the one from the Blade ship,» I confirmed, «I have been asking around but no one seems to have seen her, have you?»

He nodded his head vigorously, "Yes," he said, eagerly, "I saw the broken one, but I didn't follow her."

«Show me where she went,» I said, adding, «I don't want her to become troublesome.»

The Kelbrid looked uncertain now. He glanced around nervously before saying, in a low voice, "She has gone beyond the light."

I frowned, «Beyond the light?»

"Yes. To the place without light, nobody lives there anymore. Our home," he swept an arm up and around, indicating the entire massive ship, "is very large, vast. There is a part that has been without light for many years."

«Why?»

He shook his head, "I know not. It went out, and now it is cold and empty. We have not been able to repair it."

«Take me,» I said, and when he hesitated I reassured him, «You don't have to go into it. Only show me.»

But he must have misread my meaning because he bristled, "I am not afraid of the dark like a little child. I will take you, I will guide you." And he paced away from me. I followed and he led me to a corridor that was different from the rest. For one, it was dusty and had the smell of something very old. There were scuffs in the dust that might have been made by hooves.

My guide opened a panel in the wall and withdrew a glass globe with a strap for hanging. At the touch of his hand, the orb immediately lit up, giving off a strong golden light. At the corridor's end was a single door, beyond which I could see only blackness.

As we passed through into the eternal night I asked the Kelbrid, «What is your name?»

Again he hesitated before answering, "Garol."

Garol led me through the dark, never faltering. The dust was thicker here, almost an inch deep and it was clear that there were hoof marks making a zigzagging trail. Occasionally there were places where the dust had been disturbed in a wider spot where an Andalite had fallen. My unease grew as we progressed further until the light from the door was no longer visible; the only remaining light source was Garol's orb. And the tracks we were following made no sense, it was as if their maker had been staggering around blindly, confused. Not even in a relatively straight line either, they twisted and turned back on themselves. At one point it was obvious they had run right into a wall and a body had crashed to the floor.

After a while I sensed that there were no longer walls near us. We had come out into a vast open space. Vacant and empty and very, very old. That's when we heard it. A distant tapping noise ahead of us. We froze, both of us, and listened. But the sound did not seem to be getting any closer or further.

«What is it?» I asked. Garol only shook his head, but he drew his sword.

We proceeded cautiously. All my eyes were wide, searching the darkness around us. A few hundred yards later we found the source. A creature, moving weakly in circles, lay in our path. In my opinion it was very ugly. Its body was shaped like an oval, bloated, only covered in what looked like a metallic armor. It had four tail-like appendages, six legs, and on the front of its body what looked like more than twenty claw-like protrusions that snapped feebly. Its face was flat with an upturned nose and too many nostrils with several sets of beady eyes.

When it saw us it started to snap its claws together frantically, but the sound turned from a SNAP SNAP SNAP to a weaker _clack clack clack_. It was then, as it turned in another circle that our light fell upon a gaping wound near its hindquarters. Something had pierced the dull armor and a slightly florescent liquid oozed from the cut and left a trail behind it. And the slice looked a lot like the kind of wound an Andalite tail blade would make.

"Bantrap," Garol said.

«What?»

"It's a bantrap," he repeated, "I thought they had all died out in the last war."

«War?» I said, incredulously, «War with whom?»

He spat on the floor, "Ourselves," he said, disgusted, "We fought each other." He strode toward the beast and brought his sword down on the creature's head, putting it out of its misery. Then his whole body stiffened and he turned away from me, raising the lantern high above his head. A look of horror crossed his face as the light fell upon the crumpled form of a body lying not far from us. Only it wasn't a complete body, over the years it had lain there it had become nothing more than a skeleton and a few scraps of molding clothes.

Taking the light nearer revealed more skeletons; many of the other alien species but the majority were human. Swords and other weapons were scattered about. Garol shuddered and recoiled from the scene.

"It is unholy," he said in a strangled whisper, "that the dead have been left here. Unattended to. It is… it is evil." He moved away from them, back toward our trail, "Come away from them, quickly." I hastily obliged. The whole scene seemed…wrong, somehow. Something didn't add up. But I didn't know what to think.

We quickly resumed our previous task, tracking Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae. I tried to force all concentration on what I was doing but the image of the graveyard site kept popping up in my mind's eye. I thought I would lose my nerve until Garol called out.

"Look!" he pointed and I followed the direction of his gaze. Something glowed in the distance. We covered the stretch surprisingly quickly. At first I thought it was a statue, it was so still and unmoving. But then the outline of an Andalite figure came into focus. It was the missing _aristh_.

She stood perfectly still, head bowed, fingers clasped loosely, tail drooping, mangled leg poised just above the floor. Her whole body, from eyestalks to hooves, was glowing silvery-green. Flecks of the same light were scattered on the floor around her. Somehow, the whole picture seemed infinitely sorrowful, otherworldly so, in the oppressive darkness.

She was faced sideways from us, apparently unaware of our presence. Or, choosing not to acknowledge it.

«Lerinna,» I said. There was no response so I said, louder, «Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae.» Her whole body jerked around and a cloud of silver-green light lifted off of her and sped toward us. I threw up an arm to shield my eyes. I heard Garol let out a curse behind me. The light collided with my upraised hand and clung. It also stuck to my arm and chest.

After a startled moment I felt something moving on me. The light was moving. I turned my hand around slowly and inspected it and found thousands of tiny creatures moving between my fingers and down my arm. I squinted and looked closer, finding them to look a lot like very tiny moths, little larger than a grain of sand. I shook my arm and they instantly lifted up and away to settle on the floor not far gone. I realized that Lerinna must have been covered in millions of them.

I looked back at her, some of the swarm had settled back on her legs and arms. She stared at me as if I were a stranger; there was no recognition on her face. Her normally pale green eyes glowed like amber in the light of Garol's lamp.

«_Aristh _Lerinna,» I said. She didn't even blink, just stared, unmoving. I took a step closer and she responded by standing in a defensive position, raising her tail threateningly.

«No,» she said, «Come no…closer.»

«_Aristh_ Lerinna,» I said again, without emotion, «You will come with me. You are ill, I see that now.» I took another step forward and her tail whipped around toward me. I easily parried the stroke, another step. She lashed out again and I blocked. On the third strike I locked blades with her. She pushed and struggled, but she was weak and unbalanced.

We stood face to face then and she refused to look at me then, turning her head away. I used a hand to turn it back but she again lashed out, thrusting my hand away. I grabbed her wrists and she struggled violently, the look on her face was one of complete and utter terror.

«Do not fight me,» I said, «Lerinna, it is I. It is your captain, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil. Listen to me!» In desperation she kicked out with her front legs, hurting herself. She cried out in pain and fear. I released her arms and gripped her head in my own seven-fingered hands, forcing her main eyes to look me in the face.

She froze, eyes wild, mind frantic, for precisely four seconds. Then she went limp, her legs collapsing beneath her she crumpled to the ground. Unconscious.

I stepped back, hardly believing what I had just witnessed.

"It's this cursed place!" muttered Garol, looking around warily.

I shook my head, «No, it's her. Her mind seems to have been tormented as much as her body. I have never heard of anything like this happening before.» A shiver ran through me, I wasn't one-hundred-percent sure that Garol's statement didn't have some truth to it. I took a closer look at the still body.

Though not as ghastly emaciated as when I first saw her, Lerinna was still quite thin. The twisted leg was grossly discolored and misshapen, but not inflamed or infected; it was no longer a wound but a scar, a testimony of the hardship endured.

My instincts told me she should be executed. She had attacked her commanding officer and that was more than enough to convict her. She was also insane, I concluded, and her insanity had made her dangerous. Under normal circumstances she would be executed, but these were not considered to be normal circumstances.

But if she lived, I didn't know what to expect when she woke up.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Lerinna**

When I regained consciousness I was again unaware of where I was. This seemed to be happening very often lately, too often. I was aware that my leg was once again causing me much pain and discomfort. My head pounded and breathing caused my lungs to ache.

With some difficulty I got to my feet and perceived that it was no longer endless dark, but a golden light shone nearby. I covered my main eyes with my hands, they hurt too, but as my stalk eyes adjusted and focused I saw an Andalite and a human—or maybe it was a Kelbrid. The Andalite I recognized, it was Prince Aximili. But there was something about him; a sense of foreboding crept over me as I studied his expression.

«Captain…» I began, but he held up a hand for silence.

He seemed to consider his words for a moment before voicing them, «Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae,» he said, «Due to personal injury, unsoundness of mind and failing to follow direct orders as well as attempting to either injure and/or kill your commanding officer,» he paused. My mind raced and my head throbbed. Failure to follow orders? Kill my commanding officer? «—You are hereby relieved of military duty and of the title _aristh_. This course of action causes you to be automatically expelled from the Academy and, by law, you may not reapply.»

Expelled. Relieved of duty. Disobeying orders.

I stood in shocked silence. Surely there had been some sort of mistake. I had been dreaming, having terrible nightmares ever since being rescued. But none of them were real. What was to become of me if I couldn't even tell the difference between a sleeping vision and a waking reality?

And then it hit me. It was real. I was really there, standing in a dark forsaken place with my prince telling me that I had been expelled from the military academy. I had tried to kill him; I'd actually tried to kill my captain.

At that moment I wished that he would've at least been forced to execute me when the accident had occurred. I would be better off dead, especially now. In my mind's eye I saw my life crumbling. I didn't know who I was anymore. I had no purpose. I was disgraced.

_Just like Alloran_, I thought bitterly. I had become my father. No, I had become worse than him. The Yeerk in his head forced him to do the atrocious deeds that he'd done, while I had done mine without such assistance.

I thought I might pass out again, but it didn't happen. After a few minutes, I dared to let my stalk eyes come up to meet Aximili's, my main eyes stared blankly at the floor. I stood before him; his face was hard and set. Any scrap of hope I might have harbored was instantly crushed. I would have no mercy. I knew that now. I felt as if I had just been deemed beyond help.

I felt a sudden flare of anger at him; did he think he was doing me a favor by extending my life any longer? I had been expelled. I had failed, worse; I had tried to slay my captain. The daughter of the disgraced Prince had now become disgraced herself. How could I ever go home? How could I ever face the future with what I had done weighing me down?

_I should have killed him_, the thought wormed its way into my consciousness, _and I could still do it, or die trying. Either way_, the morbid thought reasoned,_ I win._

My tail twitched ever so slightly.

_No,_ I thought, _That is not the answer. I don't know what is, but I am going to find out._

The full force of the entire situation overwhelmed me and I sagged in defeat. I lowered my gaze in shame.

«Lerinna-Semitur-Arronae,» Prince Aximili finally broke the oppressive silence, «If you will follow me, I would like to return to the light.» He abruptly began walking back the way he had come. I followed a few paces behind, head hanging.

My sense of time was lost and it did not seem very long before we were again at the inhabited part of the Kelbrid ship. It was then that I took a closer look at our two-legged third companion. I thought I recognized him, for he seemed very familiar. But then again, all aliens of the same species tend to look the same.

We came to a protected area where the Andalites had decided to gather outside of the Garden. There were one or two Earth-humans that I assumed to be "Animorphs". Aximili was welcomed back, but no one said anything to me. Hardly looked at me, except for Prince Hartan.

«Ah, it is good to see that you found her,» he said. Aximili acknowledged his comment with a curt nod, a human thing he sometimes did. I listed off to one side of the hall where they had gathered, staring blankly at the far wall for some time, unaware of the discussions and debates happening just yards from me.

Someone touched my arm. I flinched at the contact and turned one stalk eye on the intruder. It was the same Kelbrid-human that had carried the light.

"Lerinna, Andalite," he said quietly, so that no one else might hear, "My name is Garol, and we need your help."


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Lerinna**

"It's about Mara," Garol explained in an undertone, "You are aware of her capture?"

I nodded, then felt silly using the human gesture, «Yes,» I said cautiously, «But wha…what does…that have…to…do…with me?»

The young man glanced nervously around, then said, "Come with me, and I will tell you." I suddenly realized where I had seen him before. He had been with Mara, on that day that seemed so long ago. He had been the one to give her the flower.

It was my turn to glance around, Aximili would not be happy with me if I were to wander off again. Then I smirked; my life was the lowest it would surely ever be. I had reached the absolute bottom. Nothing was going to stop me from trying to help the one who had first helped me, not even the Captain himself. I owed it to her; it would be cowardly to act otherwise.

I nodded again and followed Garol.

We arrived shortly, in the deserted marketplace. _Almost deserted_, I corrected myself. There was another person there, a Kelbrid-human. He sat brooding against a wall, when he heard us approach he rose to his feet.

"Who goes there?" he demanded.

"Timon," said Garol, "We've come to help."

Timon frowned, "We?" he repeated, "Who are you?" he walked closer, a suspicious look on his face. The blind man reached out his arm to feel Garol's face as the other tensed.

Timon's unseeing eyes widened in anger, "You," he breathed, before making the hand into a fist. Faster than Garol could react, he drew back and punched the other man hard in the face. Garol reeled away, holding his head in his hands. He grunted in pain, and dropped his hands away. His left eye was red and swollen and his cheek showed the beginnings of an ugly bruise.

I looked from one to the other, confused. «Timon?»

Timon's head snapped around, "Lerinna, why are _you_ here?" his expression was puzzled.

"I told you," moaned Garol as he rubbed his eye, "We came to help."

"Help what?" Timon asked suspiciously.

"Help rescue Mara, idiot," Garol answered, "I knew you were going to attempt it, I thought you could use some help. That's why I brought the Andalite."

Timon seemed to consider this, then began nodding, "I see now," he said, then frowned, "Do you have a plan?"

Garol looked at me; "I do, as long as the Andalite is willing."

I frowned, «How can I…possibly…be…of any…use?» They both stared at me. Actually, Garol stared at me. Timon just stared, if a blind man can stare.

Garol broke the silence, "You can change your shape, can you not?" he said.

«Yes,» I replied, «but…your…technology prevents…me…from doing…so.»

"But," Timon countered, "I can show you how to turn that off."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Lerinna**

Mara's horse seemed to be the answer. The mare walked right up to the barricaded place that Garand's rebels had taken hold of. The Kelbrid girl was inside, we knew. The horse was the perfect tool to get close. It was dark; the automated lighting systems were powering down.

"Halt!" called one of the guards standing outside. He'd heard the approaching hoof beats.

"What is it?" asked another, "What's the trouble?"

A pause, then, "Never mind, it is only a horse."

The horse wandered outside the compound, nobody paid it any mind. And nobody paid any mind to the small creature clinging to the animal's mane. That would be myself.

I'd morphed into one of the many small, grass-creatures. This one was called a virus. It possessed the tools that I needed naturally on its little body. My spindly little legs propelled me toward the fortress. The Kelbrid seemed like very large, menacing shapes towering above me. But they never even looked down. Why should they fear such an insignificant creature?

I skittered beneath their barriers. The one real disadvantage of the morph was that I was utterly deaf, I could hear nothing. I could feel everything. Every little vibration in the air or ground was sensed. It was electrifying; I could feel men breathing and moving, even the nearest one's heartbeat.

Inside the compound it was dark. The only light source came from several glowing orbs of red light, spread out along the hall. Getting in was the easy part; it would be a much different story getting out. Now, to find the girl.

My six antennae waved madly above my head, they seemed to combine smelling, tasting, and feeling all into one. The sensory input was almost overwhelming with so many large bodies in that comparatively small area.

Suddenly, she was there, right in front of me. More accurately, her hand was, just four feet away. I motored my ten spindly legs, scurrying to the hand. At least, I hoped it was Mara's hand.

«Mara.»

She must have jumped at my voice because I saw the hand twitch.

«Mara, it is I, Lerinna.» I craned my tiny eyes upward, but couldn't make out the face. However, she must have said something, because I could feel the vibrations of the words and the wind her breath created.

«I cannot hear you,» I explained, «Tap your finger, once for yes and twice for no. Have you sustained injury?»

The index finger of the hand rose and fell, _Thud, thud_. The resonating vibes felt like an earthquake.

«Are you alone?» The answer was another thud of the finger. Yes.

I took a breath, or at least I would have except that the virus did not, in fact, have lungs. I concentrated on becoming myself again, my real self.

The first changes were my antennae. They grew and melded together, sprouting a pale green eye on each stalk. Six of the spindly legs shrank and withered away, the remaining four growing in thickness and strength. Organs disappeared and new ones formed, twisting up inside my body. All the while I was growing. Growing from a tiny insect into an Andalite. I felt much better as my tail sprouted and the blade reformed, small though it was.

The final change seemed to be the virus' smooth skin, transforming into soft flesh and lustrous fur seemed to roll out from it. Shiny, blue-violet, soft Andalite fur.

I took a moment, just one tiny moment, to look down at myself. All the scars had disappeared; those awful reminders of the cruelty dealt me. My head felt clearer than it had in ages. And my legs, my four wonderful, perfect, unmarred legs; they were whole once more. I could walk for the fist time. I could walk!

A breathy whisper tore my mind back to the moment. "Lerinna?"

I looked down. Mara sat against the wall, hands and feet bound. There was a strip of cloth tied around her head and it took me a moment to realize that it covered her eyes so that she could not see.

I reached over and pulled it off. She blinked a few times in the dim light, then her two eyes turned up and focused on me.

"How…?" I put my fingers on her lips.

«Quiet now. Explanations later.» She nodded and with two quick swipes of my tail her tethers fell to the floor.

She stood carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible. Now came the hard part.

«Stay close,» I ordered. We crept to the door of the small room that had been her prison. A shiver ran down my spine, the enclosed space reminded me of my own prison cell.

The door was not secured and I opened it as silently as possible. There was a Kelbrid man guarding the other side, but he faced outward. He was not expecting an attack from the inside.

_Fwap!_ A quick blow to the side of his head with the flat of my blade. He dropped like a stone and I did my best to pull his unconscious form back into the room. Mara and I exited, closing the door behind us.

I walked carefully, though it is difficult to walk quietly with hooves on a hard floor. Mara's bare feet only made soft padding noises.

After steeling down a hallway, we found ourselves faced by two of Garand's men. Both armed.

"What—" said the first before I struck him down. The other had just the time to shout, "Intruders!" before he was also sent to the floor.

There was a commotion in the next chamber as the rebels rallied themselves. Alerted by the cry of alarm.

«Run!» I told Mara. She sprinted, surprisingly fast on just two legs, toward the exit. I turned to block the other entrance to the outer hall. I managed to cut down three more, enough to make them stop and think, before speeding after the girl.

We ran, burst through the compound's outer exit, evaded six guards, and ran like mad through the darkness with shouts of anger and pursuit ringing behind us.

Lights flared, casting our own shadows before us as we ran. But Mara could not keep up with me, now that I could really run. That was another good reason the horse was there.

Without needing further direction, Mara leapt nimbly onto the beast's broad back, driving her heels into the animal's sides and sending it speeding off. We swiftly outdistanced the men on foot.

I led the rider through a dark passageway. The horse's hooves and mine clattering on the floor and echoing off the walls. We wound through the maze of corridors, finally exiting into the 'Western' side of the garden and retreating into the cover of the tall trees that grew there.

We'd made it. I had made it.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Lerinna**

There in the safety and shelter of the tall trees called 'furs', Garol was waiting for us. We slowed and stopped, Mara slid off her horse onto the ground. She wobbled a moment, and I could see a clear fluid leaking from her eyes and down her cheeks. Tears.

Garol ran and embraced her, a human action performed by wrapping one's arms around another. She hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder, her own shoulders shaking with silent sobs. When her emotions subsided, she pulled back from Garol, looking up into his face, her eyes questioning.

"You…you planned this?" she asked, seemingly confused.

He nodded to me, "With the Andalite's help, yes." He smiled, parting his lips to show his teeth. So odd, I thought.

"Thank you," Mara said, visibly fighting back more tears. Humans sure seemed to be very emotional. Then, "What happened?" her fingers traced over the young man's brow and swollen cheek where Timon had struck him.

"Nothing," he laughed, shaking his head, "I'm fine as long as you're safe."

Then Garol did a strange thing; he leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers. I did not see the purpose of this action, but Mara seemed to enjoy it. She pulled back, a smile playing across her face.

At that moment, Timon made his appearance. Apparently he'd been listening for any pursuit. But there was none, yet. Mara looked embarrassed but then ran to embrace her brother also. Timon was overjoyed to have his twin back safe and sound where he could keep an eye on her. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Stepping back from him, she seemed to remember that I was still standing there. She stepped up to me and hugged me, much in the same way as the others. I was at a loss for what I should do about that. The close contact was strange and unsettling, but somehow, the warmth of another body so close, even and alien's, brought some measure of comfort and affection. Finally, I awkwardly moved my arms to hug her back.

Humans were an odd species, to be sure.

She released me, and I sensed she was about to ask another question. I was correct.

"How is this possible?" she asked, "You are…you're…" she seemed to be fumbling for words.

«Restored?» I suggested. She nodded. «The morphing technology,» I explained, «When I used it, my body was reconstructed by my DNA, omitting previous injury.» I smiled at her, feeling a sudden giddiness come over me. «I could run, Mara. Did you see? I could really run.»

Mara grinned back, "Yes, and you were incredible. I am very happy for you."

Timon stepped up, clearing his throat, which made a very weird sound. We all looked at him.

"I regret to interrupt, but they will soon be looking for us and it won't be long until Garrand's force comes here."

Garol nodded his agreement, "He's right, my father will do all in his power to get you back."

«Your _father_?» I said, skeptical.

He nodded gravely, "Yes. My father is Garrand, the traitor." He turned away for a moment, bitterly resenting the actions of his sire.

"I will stay and hold them off," he said, jaw set.

Mara protested, "You can't—" he cut her off with a raised hand.

"I can. I can delay them, for a while at least. I'm their leader's son, what can they do to me?" he tried to make light of it, but there was pain behind his forced smile.

Garol pulled Mara into his arms once more, speaking softly into her ear, "I'll come back for you. I promise." He turned away from us then, saying, "Go, take the horse. Get as far as you can. My father's wrath will be great when he learns of what happened. Now go!"

Biting her lip, Mara turned back to the mare, who was grazing quietly nearby. She grabbed the creature's long mane and pulled herself up, then helped Timon to mount behind her.

Hooves pounded on the Garden's soft turf as we crossed to the other side, slipping into one of the many passageways and down the winding corridors. The mounted humans led the way and I followed closely behind.

The two riders seemed gripped with fear, but of what I did not know. But understanding came slowly, like clearing fog. We turned down several long hallways, and I soon noticed that they were far dustier and ill lit. Then we came to the door at the end, and Mara lit one of the golden spheres as the old passage opened into a wider, open area.

A place that smelled old and unused, ancient and quiet. They dismounted and sent the horse back up the passages, back to its herd. Timon was the first to step into the darkness, for, whether or not there was light made no difference to him. Mara followed close, gripping his hand with one of hers and holding the lamp in the other.

I too, stepped into the space. Into that black abyss.

Into the void.


End file.
